


Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by illustriousrocket



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Adaptation, Alternate Mythology, Alternate Universe, Angst, Battle Frontier, Conspiracy, Deconstruction, Drama, Gen, Pokemon Battle, Pokemon Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-03-02 16:38:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 385,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13322214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illustriousrocket/pseuds/illustriousrocket
Summary: Five years ago, Olivia Mistbloom lost her father and was left to study under a friend of his. Now, still unable to accept the reality of his death, she finally begins her Pokémon journey under the belief that if she succeeds, he will notice and return to be a part of her life again. Accompanying her are her mentor Matt, a badly wounded scientist seeking the truth behind several incidents in his past; Bunny, an archeologist and historian who has worked with Matt in the past; and Nekou, a mysterious woman with wild behavior who is like a sister to Olivia. However, lurking in the background is the emerging group known as Polaris, who aim to dismantle the Pokémon League and the entire society built around it. With everything they know at risk, the four get caught up in an all-out war between multiple factions as the truth about a being that will reshape everything slowly comes to light.





	1. The Day an Angel Fell to Earth

**Author's Note:**

> This story is one that I've transferred from two other places I've posted it. It is the third part of a three-part series, but the events of the two stories before it are summarized early on in this story; I do intend to upload the two past stories in the near future once I'm more comfortable with how A03 works, but for now I've gotten requests to bring this one here so that is what I'm doing.
> 
> It contains heavy swearing, infrequent scenes of elevated violence, character death (though the tags already mentioned that), and general elements that wouldn't be out of place in science fiction-horror movies. There is a storyline involving a character who was raped but let me be clear now: the act will never be depicted and there will be no explicit discussion of it. The storyline focuses on what happened after the incident, not the incident itself.

**CHAPTER 1:** The Day an Angel Fell to Earth

 

-:-

 

Deep within the vast complex, a pair of white-coated scientists hurried down a cold, metallic hallway. One of them, a woman wearing her black hair in a bun, was shuffling through the papers in her hands in a panic.

 

“You’re saying it started a half an hour ago?” the male scientist with her said. “Why did it take me so long to be informed?”

 

“Thirty-four minutes to be precise, Dr. Zager,” the woman meekly offered. “And the team had to stabilize her immediately, otherwise you wouldn’t even have the time to get here.”

 

“It’s that bad?” Zager adjusted his thick, round glasses and picked up the pace of his stride. “I was afraid of this happening…”

 

The pair arrived at a large door bearing the symbol of a double helix twisting into a shape resembling the letter ‘P.’ Zager withdrew an identification card printed with his photograph and touched it to a scanner next to the door, causing it to give way.

 

The laboratory within was a clutter of computer equipment. Another, smaller door lay on the opposite end of the room between two system towers. A loudspeaker system was set up to connect the two sections of the lab, and at the moment Zager and his aide entered, it was filling the air with the sound of a woman’s agonized screams punctuated by the beeping of a heart monitor. Several other scientists were doing their best to handle the situation at their computers, but the frantic mood in the room was overwhelming them.

 

Without hesitation, Zager ran to his main workstation, a thick laptop running imaging of a DNA strand. A tiny, yellow spider Pokémon jumped up on the table next to it, but Zager waved her off.

 

“Joltik, not right now. I’m busy.” Reaching into his pocket again, Zager took out a disk, inserted it into the computer, and typed a command.

 

The computer responded with the text, _“GENETIC ENCRYPTION PASSKEY ACCEPTED. ACCESSING POLARIS AMINO BASE MAINFRAME. AZRAEL PROJECT OPERATING SYSTEM, VERSION 7.3 ACTIVATED. USER LOGIN: GABRIEL ZAGER. NINTH OCTOBER, YEAR 1987. System ready…”_

 

The moment the login sequence ended, Zager typed in, “Activate voice command input system.”

 

_“SWITCHING TO VOCAL INPUT MODE. VOCAL INPUT MODE CONFIRMED.”_

 

“Alright, now that that’s settled… turn on direct voice communication, control room to procedure room.”

 

_“CONTROL ROOM TO PROCEDURE ROOM VOICE COMMUNICATION STATUS: ACTIVE.”_

 

Turning his head up, Zager said out loud, “Chimere, I’m here. Give me some idea of what’s happening to you!”

 

“What do you… think?!’ the woman in the next room screamed back, in between bouts of gasping for air. “You… you all promised me…”

 

“...that this wouldn’t happen, I know…” Zager finished, hanging his head.

 

“Dr. Zager, we’re standing by for your orders,” another voice, this one male, said from the procedure room. “We have to do something.”

 

“She needs painkillers…” Zager’s aide suggested.

 

“No, Barbara, we can’t…” the doctor swiftly contradicted. “Computer, bring up the most recent full-body imaging scans. Heat, energy, all of them.”

 

_“ACCESSING FULL BODY IMAGING RECORDS, FIFTH OCTOBER, YEAR 1987. LOADING.”_

 

Images of a woman’s body appeared on the screen, and when Barbara saw them, she gasped. “It’s… taken over her body…”

 

“See, you didn’t pay as close attention to these as I did.” Taking hold of the mouse next to his keyboard, Zager clicked through the images. “I think you see what I mean now, but… computer, bring up blood flow and immune response, side by side.”

 

_“BLOOD FLOW AND IMMUNE SYSTEM RECORDS.”_ The charts Zager requested appeared on the screen.

 

“See, look at this. It’s been developing all these months but these are the worst it’s ever been.”

 

“You’re right, Doctor…” Barbara whispered. “We give her medication of any sort with most of her blood flow going right to the child, it’ll end up going right there with everything else. Who knows what would happen…”

 

“We played God and this is what we got…” One of the scientists working in the room with Zager and Barbara suddenly stumbled away from his computer. Shaking violently, he turned in the direction of the room where Chimere was suffering. “We did this. We killed her. All for a foolish, idiotic dream...”

 

The man’s body gave out on him, leaving him to fall against a nearby desk. He started to gag, then wretched the contents of his stomach into the waste bin next to him. Soon after, another of Chimere’s screams pierced the room, causing Zager and Barbara to jump.

 

“Chimere? Chimere, stay with us, here! You’ve gotten this far, you can make it!”

 

“You...lied to me… Zager… just… just get this thing out of me and end this! I don’t want this anymore!”

 

“Computer, real-time body imaging…”

 

_“REAL-TIME BODY IMAGING ACTIVATED. SCANNING. LOADING.”_

 

As soon as the scan of Chimere’s body appeared on Zager’s screen, his face sank. Taking a deep, labored breath, he typed a new command.

 

“Deactivate voice command input system.”

 

_“DEACTIVATING VOCAL INPUT MODE. SWITCHING TO MANUAL TEXT INPUT MODE.”_

 

Picking up on the tension in her superior, Barbara nervously asked, “Dr. Zager?”

 

“She… no. There’s no way she’ll survive. Not with that amount of blood going to the child. I should have realized this would happen when I saw the tests…”

 

“What do we do, then?”

 

Before Zager could answer, Chimere’s screaming reached earsplitting volume, accompanied by what sounded like something violently hitting against a plastic surface.

 

“Dr. Zager!” the male scientist in the procedure room shouted. “I think we’re out of time… my… my God…”

 

Zager and Barbara just kept staring at the computer’s screen as the screaming got louder and louder, having long passed the point where Chimere could form any coherent words. The tension in the room increased every time the heart monitor beeped.

 

And then, the screaming broke and abruptly ceased. The heart monitor droned on with an unending tone.

 

“It’s over…” Zager mumbled, “...I hope.” He then typed in the command, “Are there any life readings at all?”

 

_“SCANNING. LOADING SCAN… LIFE SIGNS VERIFIED.”_

 

Understanding the meaning of those words, Zager uttered, “Chimere, find a rest worthy of what we did to you…”

 

“W-what have we done…” the scientist in the procedure room mumbled.

 

“I hope whatever deity there is up there has mercy on our souls…”

 

“Why, Zager? This should be a cause for celebration.”

 

Both Zager and Barbara spun around to face a video screen mounted on another wall. The individual addressing them from it was obscured by shadows, with only a pair of light-filled glasses clearly visible.

 

“F-Father,” Zager uttered in fear. “Please…”

 

“I am not angry with you, Zager.” When the man Zager called ‘Father’ spoke, it sounded as if several people were talking at once, obscuring his true voice. “I am quite proud. It seems your program has born fruit for Polaris.”

 

“I can only wish it had worked out according to the vision I had for this program. You… you told me this was meant to be research for helping cure disease. I don’t understand why it had to go like this…”

 

“I didn’t lie to you, Zager. This will help rid mankind of disease as we know it. It will also do much more than that. It’s about time I told you about the true vision of Polaris… the true meaning of the Azrael Project.”

 

-:-

 

-:-

 

_Four years ago_

_May 1, 2008_

 

The years had not been kind to the Polaris research team. As time passed from that fateful day in 1987, member after member fell away from the group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the scientist who had lost his composure in Dr. Zager’s lab that day was the first to go; he simply stopped attending work within a few months of the incident and disappeared, rarely being spoken of again as the result of some unwritten rule. Over the next few years, the others peeled off one by one, some quitting the organization for their own reasons, others simply disappearing without a word. Finally, at the end, Dr. Zager himself disappeared from Polaris’s ranks, following a series of highly disappointing reports on the status of the child created that day, Azrael.

 

Perhaps coincidentally, Dr. Zager’s disappearance was fourteen years to the day Azrael was born.

 

Many more members joined Polaris over the intervening time both before and after Zager’s departure, plenty of them scientists and doctors, but of the original team that worked to create Azrael, only three remained. Barbara was one, while the two men, their faces now plagued by lines of age and their hair now graying, still worked in Polaris’s labs as well. Not much had changed over the years, even with the vast upgrades their technology had received.

 

“I think Father’s finally lost his old mind,” one of the scientists bitterly said to the other, as they both sat at computer consoles. He gestured to the object of their current experiment, a large test tube between the two computers, which contained a tiny speck of fleshy matter floating in green liquid. “He hasn’t been the same since Azrael failed, but this? This is ridiculous.”

 

“I hear you. There have been some odd experiments we’ve worked on, but communicating with a brain synapse? Dr. Zager wouldn’t have wasted Finansielle’s funding like this. This guy in charge now is just insane.”

 

“What’s that? Did I hear you two discussing me?”  
  
Without the notice of the two scientists, a third man had slipped into the room behind them. He could be distinguished by his prematurely-graying hair, styled with two spikes on the right side, three on the left, and two long bangs hanging over his bespectacled face. Perhaps more startling, though, was the giant scar that formed a blood-red arc across his visage. His clothing was mainly shades of black and gray, though the coat he wore beneath his cape was outlined with yellow.

 

Immediately, the two scientists, who were clearly subordinates of the third, stiffened up from nerves.

 

“Well, no, of course we wouldn’t be, sir…” the first fumbled.

 

“You know, you’re a terrible liar. I overheard everything. You’re lucky we’re on such a tight schedule, though. What you call a waste of Finansielle’s money is actually a vital project for Polaris’s plan, vital enough that it just got you off of a punishment for insubordination. What’s the status of Project J?”

 

“There have been no responses thus far, sir,” explained the second of the underlings. “However, Project J has showed continued molecular stability and zero signs of degeneration.”

 

“Excellent, that means it’s still perfectly preserved. Continue trying to reactivate it, and let me know if it…”

 

The sound of beeping from the computer console interrupted the man’s sentence, but it turned his expression into one of excitement. Readouts on the screens that had previously displayed only straight, flat lines now were spiking and falling rapidly.

 

“I… really? Project J… it’s communicating with us, sir!”

 

“Switch over to real-time translation of those waves!”

 

Sufficiently cowed by his superior’s joyous outburst, the first of the two scientists swiftly entered a command into his computer, replacing the wave patterns with lines of written text.

 

“Hello? Where am… I?”

 

“The laboratory of Polaris,” one of the men typed in response. “We’ve separated you from your body and kept you alive.”

 

There was a pause as the entity in the tank considered what it had been told. “What do you intend to do with me?”

 

“Sir?”

 

The leader of this rather odd team leaned over one of the computers and typed in his own comment. “We are going to see if we can create a new body for you and put you in it. We want to see if you will survive.”

 

“Please, give me a new body! I want one! Give me a new body and I’ll work for you, even!”

 

“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” the first scientist whispered out loud. “Project J is fully active.”

 

“I must present this news at the next meeting of the Sacred Helix,” the leader declared, pulling a golden mask in the shape of a feline Pokémon from his black cape and affixing it to his face. “This development is an important day in the progress of Polaris’s goal.”

 

-:-

 

_Present day_

 

Light shining down from several large spotlights illuminated the two women contained within the circular desk fixture. Shackled and dressed in rags, they presented a strange, unsettling sight, and this was not helped by the blank facial expressions both wore as they slowly danced around the circle.

 

The first of the two women to speak was the one with flowing purple hair. “When the vast white flame of truth burns out…” she said in a breathy, flat voice, “…and the deep black thunder of ideals dissipates into nothing…”

 

“That gray void of nothing…” her counterpart, distinguishable by her green ponytail, completed. “That is the Day of Reckoning.”

 

“Thank you so very much, Anthea, Concordia,” uttered one of the seven people sitting at the desks, every word of his dripping with sarcasm. This man was the only one of the seven to not be wearing some kind of mask, instead opting for a red eyepiece that covered only his right eye. His entire appearance was fittingly bizarre – his pale green hair had a trio of strands hooking around, one on each side and another atop his head. His clothing was even stranger, consisting of a black, tattered cape hemmed with red; underneath it was a jet-black suit accentuated with yellow bands around the wrists. Apparently a designation of his rank, his seat was identified with the number ‘3’ on the front of his desk. “Fellow members of the Sacred Helix, as you can see, the traitorous waste known as the Tenganist people know information that will assist us in pursuing our true ideals!”

 

“We didn’t need your Gypsy carnival dance show to learn that, Ghetsis.” This was the man from the science lab overseeing Project J, who now wore his mask to hide his scarred face. He was sitting at the seat numbered ‘8.’

 

“Watch it, Jeunes,” reproached the number-four executive, a woman whose nearly-full head and shoulder armor left her slightly-aged-looking nose and mouth areas as the only indications of her gender aside from her voice. “There is no need for such pettiness between members of the Sacred Helix. You have all been chosen for a reason.”

 

“Yes, Finansielle. Please forgive me.”

 

“Might I also urge Jeunes to remember he’s the leader of section _eight_ while I’m the head of section _three_ ,” Ghetsis saw fit to add, turning his sarcasm on his colleague.

 

The man sitting at the seat for section number two would have none of this. “And I would urge you, Ghetsis, to remember _your_ place. You had all three Angels within your grasp in Unova and you let them slip away. That failing set us back by years and cost a substantial amount of funds to recover from. We cannot sustain any such failure again.”

 

Ghetsis could not respond. His incredible pride was damaged, and it left him unable to do anything but stare at the man who had belittled him. Staring back was that man’s own unique mask, which loaned him the appearance of a Darkrai; the left half of his face was covered by flowing white plumage, while an opaque eyepiece in a half-circle shape covered the right.

 

-:-

 

_“The big story that everyone’s talking about tonight is the upcoming meteor shower surrounding the closest pass of the meteor Persephone-2213 to Earth in over a thousand years, and we’ll be back in a few minutes to get more in-depth on it.”_

 

It was night in the Pewter City Museum of Science, and as such, the building was dark and empty. Only a single night watchman – a portly, gentle-looking individual - remained, and he was perfectly content to remain in his security booth watching the news on television and snacking absentmindedly from a box of doughnuts.

 

His complacence was directly the reason why he did not notice the infiltrator who slipped into the museum.

 

Moving quietly and blending into the shadows, the mysterious invader slipped past several displays of relics from ancient cultures. As interesting as those displays were to him, he had a mission and intended to stick to it. At the entry to a larger hall, he stopped and glanced carefully around, eventually spotting a security camera positioned up on the wall straight ahead.

 

He leaned down and smiled. “Do you really think such a feeble defense can stop me?”

 

On the wall next to him was a fuse box sealed with four screws; luckily for the thief, he had come prepared with a screwdriver. He wasted no time in using the tool to remove the screws, and once they were gone he removed the metal plate from the console, exposing the blinking lights of the fuses within.

 

Quietly, the thief raised his right arm, causing the material of his bodysuit to make a stretching sound. The air around his hand crackled with static electricity, ending with a lightning bolt flowing from his palm into the fuses, overloading them and blowing out the entire museum’s power.

 

In his booth, the watchman had finally taken notice of something amiss when the lights went out. However, he was too slow to act, and when the power system shorted out, the museum went into automatic lockdown – which included the door in and out of his small room.

 

While the guard cursed the door and attempted in vain to work it open, the intruder was completely unaffected by the lockdown. With a special silver briefcase in hand, he strode across the wide hall to a certain exhibit – a pair of shining glass orbs, one with angular, uneven surface, and the other with a smooth surface.

 

Setting the briefcase carefully on the floor, he read the sign in front of the exhibit out loud, “Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb.”

 

These treasures were his objective, so he set about the process of taking them. Aware of an invisible laser barrier shielding the two orbs, he set his hand down on the edge of the exhibit platform, sending a surge of his electricity through it. The two pedestals supporting the pair of orbs each suffered a small explosion and collapsed, dropping the precious items down to the ground, where they were no longer within the boundaries of the laser barriers.

 

Knowing that he could not reach the Adamant Orb and Lustrous Orb manually, the intruder searched around the room for something to use, ultimately settling on a yellow-and-blue hooked staff once wielded by an ancient king. This tool was originally placed next to a replica of a similarly-colored sarcophagus, but now, the burglar simply used it to carefully pull the orbs to himself. He collected the orbs one at a time, setting them carefully within the foam outlines inside his briefcase.

 

His work finished, he sealed up the case and started walking back the way he came. However, something caught his eye on the way, prompting him to stop. It was a relief cut into white stone, depicting three humanoid Pokémon with long tails riding on clouds.

 

“The Legendary Pokémon said to have been sealed on Emeraude Island, Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus…” He chuckled as he shook his head. “It’ll have to wait, but your time will come…”

 

Abruptly turning around, the enigmatic figure discovered another exhibit, one that excited him even further – a large capsule, roughly seven or eight feet tall, sealed at its top by an airtight lock.

 

“So we meet at last, Zoroark…” The thief could barely contain the thrill in his voice as he slowly approached the capsule. “You’ve been trapped in there for so long, but please wait just a little longer. I promise to you that I will return and free you, and at that point, your reign will begin!”

 

-:-

 

Route 26, right on the border between Johto and Kanto, was a long, lightly populated stretch of land. One of the few buildings on the road was a florist shop, heavily overgrown with many kinds and colors of flowers.

 

A fairly nondescript black car pulled up to the shop, and its driver stepped out. He was a tall man dressed in a heavy black trench coat, using a fedora and a pair of dark sunglasses to further conceal his identity. As he strolled deliberately into the shop with a suitcase in his hand, he was greeted by its counter clerk.

 

“See anything you like around here?” the clerk inquired, gesturing to the countless flowers around the inside of the building. He was perfectly able to talk despite his identity, in fact, being a Meowth didn’t seem to reduce his humanity at all. Once he got a better look at the customer, however, he froze. Turning to the back room, he yelled, “Hey, you two, get out here!”

 

“Be quiet, Meowth, we’re coming.”

 

The fiery red-headed woman who replied to Meowth’s call soon appeared, alongside her somewhat-effeminate-looking male companion. Both were dressed in plain brown clothes, and the male half of the duo had blue hair of a moderate length. The only unusual characteristic between the two of them was the extremely long ponytail worn by the woman.

 

Both took a moment to analyze their visitor. Glancing over him, they did not immediately react, but when he removed his sunglasses to reveal his vivid green eyes, they realized who he was.

 

“Pierce, what are you doing here?” the man asked, hushing his voice deliberately. “Things changed, don’t you know?”

 

“And I’m here to tell you things have changed again,” Pierce forcefully explained, his deep voice almost shaking the room. “Jessie, James, Meowth, I have orders related to me from the boss to come here and pick you up. Do you have your Pokémon?”

 

Jessie and James checked their belts; she had two Poké Balls, while James had one. After verifying this fact, they both nodded to Pierce, who replaced his glasses and turned for the door.

 

“Come with me. There’s a car outside waiting for you.”

 

Though they were confused, Jessie, James and Meowth followed Pierce anyway. Once they were outside and walking to Pierce’s car, though, Jessie decided to confront him.

 

“Just what is this all about, Pierce? You come here, barge in and disrupt our lives… you know you have no right to do that.”

 

“You left your suitcase back there, too…” added an equally-disturbed James.

 

Pierce did not answer, instead, he silently led the trio to his car and beckoned them in through a door that he opened for them. Once they were seated, he got into the driver’s seat and closed his door, then raised up his hand and snapped his fingers.

 

Outside, the building Jessie, James and Meowth lived in exploded in flames. All three of them gasped, and much to her frustration, Jessie’s Wobbuffet escaped from its ball to join the chorus of dismayed groans.

 

“What do you think you’re doing, you punk?!” Meowth screeched.

 

“Code Black Seven has been initiated by Giovanni,” Pierce uttered while staring straight ahead. “The lives you knew are now at an end.”

 

Immediately, the mood in the car changed. Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet were all cowed by Pierce’s announcement, and their attitudes became somber.

 

“That means Polaris has finally made its move, then,” Jessie commented.

 

“Is the boss alright?” James asked immediately after Jessie spoke. “We aren’t too late, are we?”

 

“Giovanni is fine, but he is under house arrest and being closely monitored. I have been sent to escort you to the Executives who will be commanding your operations from this point forward.”

 

-:-

 

A gentle breeze blew through New Bark Town, a peaceful district in the Johto Region’s southeast. Once a completely residential location that required its citizens to take the short stroll to nearby Cherrygrove City for supplies, time had passed and the touch of tourism had arrived; a few hotels, shops, restaurants and other facilities now stood anachronistically alongside the stately wooden homes and power-generating windmills.

 

One such building was a twelve-floor hotel and spa that towered over much of the town. Lodging was provided from the third floor up, while dining and shopping took up the second floor and spa services occupied the first.

 

The spa offered hot tubs within private spaces for rental usage. Two women and a younger girl were lounging in one of these units, attempting to relax after several stressful days. They were watching the same news broadcast as the security guard at the Pewter Museum.

 

_“Experts predict that the closest point of Persephone-2213 will not come for several more months, but the meteor showers resulting from its debris field have already begun. Some small meteorites have gone astray from their field and struck the planet, but none of them are large enough to cause significant damage. One of the larger meteorites crashed two weeks ago at the Ruins of Alph in central Johto, and excavation is about to get underway to examine it.”_

 

“Nekou, Bunny, isn’t that interesting?” said the girl, her voice somewhat tempered by her worn nerves. She moved around, allowing her long, curly blue hair to drift gently in the water. “I think I should thank you guys, too. I’ll find my dad with the help you’re giving me.”

 

“You’re very welcome, Olivia,” responded the woman who was farther away from the girl, who could be distinguished by her two ponytails formed from her warmly brown-hued hair and her striking blue eyes. “You’re Matt’s apprentice, so there’s no reason I shouldn’t help you out too.”

 

“Ordinarily I’d just say to watch out for yourself and no one else, but this time, I’ll have to agree with Bunny.” The woman in the middle was perhaps the most unusual of the three. She wore glasses and had hair colored black with red streaks that flowed everywhere, and her left arm was held up by a white sling. A huge bruise occupied her left shoulder, forcing her to switch her right hand between the can of beer and tube of potato chips she’d placed next to herself. “Counting on others is a good way to be disappointed, Olivia. But if you can find someone that is worthy of your trust, well… that’s pretty cool, you know?”

 

“It’s worth noting, though,” Bunny commented as Nekou took a huge slurp out of her beer before crunching a mouthful of chips, “that it’s Matt’s money paying for our luxury accommodations right now.”

 

“He’s always like this,” explained Olivia, “even when it’s completely out of place. He’s always trying to do favors to try and convince people he’s nice, or something. He shouldn’t have to do so much to make people like him.”

 

“That sucks pretty fucking bad,” Nekou blurted out, not bothering to check the expletives that came out in her bored-sounding speech even though Olivia was around. “I mean, I’m not complaining, I get a free spa trip out of it. I’m just saying that I don’t believe in trying to cover or apologize for who you are. When people pulled that on me, I told them to shove it. I couldn’t live like that.”

 

Bunny took a deep breath, feeling awkward due to Nekou’s casual outburst. Deciding to transition the conversation to a different topic, she said, “So, Olivia, you’re going to finally get a starter Pokémon and become a formal trainer tomorrow. Have you given any thought into what Pokémon you’ll choose?”

 

“Well, Professor Elm can offer me Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile, right? I could go with Totodile, since it’s a Water-type. My dad would approve of that. But… Cyndaquil is really cute, too, but I don’t know if I could go with a Fire-type…”

 

_“Shifting gears from the meteor shower,”_ said the voice of the newscaster on the television near the hot tub, _“we now bring you an update on another story that’s been gripping the nation: the serial killer known as Kiss of Death.”_

 

Olivia, Nekou and Bunny had their conversation interrupted by the news report, but as they became interested in what the report had to say, they weren’t bothered.

 

_“The Kiss of Death killer has struck again. Melvin Clemens, a management director for the Angel Corporation, was found brutally murdered in his Viridian City apartment last night. Fitting with the pattern of her previous crimes, the scene was left completely, spotlessly cleaned of all signs of her presence. Only the horribly mangled body of Mr. Clemens was left behind, and all DNA evidence was removed, leaving only the signature imprint of the shape of the killer’s lips in the victim’s blood on him.”_

 

The screen then changed what it displayed, replacing the newscaster with a bony-faced man whose rigid gaze was framed by thick eyebrows and thin, flat black hair. Olivia nearly jumped out of the water, as she recognized him immediately.

 

“That’s Detective Looker!” she exclaimed, before explaining, “He helped us out five years ago! You know, back when my dad was still around to fight the bad guys…”

 

“Don’t dwell on that,” Nekou said sharply, “let’s listen to what he’s got to say now.”

 

_“Developed have we a picture of definition on this most vicious serial killer,”_ Looker spoke on the television. _“All of the murders being associated with this killer have exhibited the signs of sameness, yes. Always the victim’s body gets dropped and left behind in a terribly mutilated state of being, along with the calling card of the killer’s signature, her lips being cast in the blood of the dead one. All genetic evidence that would show leads is, sadly to be saying, destroyed at the scene of each and every committed crime.”_

 

“You know, a story like that is kind of romantic in a sense.”

 

“Romantic?” hissed Bunny, her voice completely giving away how much Nekou’s comment bothered her. “It’s a sick mass murderer! How can that be romantic?”

 

“Well, think about it. Maybe she has more motives than simply just killing. And for the romantic part, I mean, she only kisses every one of her victims with their own blood on her lips. I can’t help but feel like there’s more to the Kiss of Death story is all I’m saying.”

 

Having spent the last few minutes absorbing the words of those around her, Olivia suddenly blurted out, “I wonder where Matt is? I thought he said he was going to join us.”

 

“Oh, he’s probably off jerking around somewhere, probably literally.” Nekou sighed and sipped her beer before adding, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get some pizza and leave him out of it. Fuck him if he doesn’t want to hang out with us.”

 

-:-

 

Though she was wrong, Nekou probably would have made the same joke even if she truly did know about what was going on four floors above them.

 

Most of the lights in the spacious room the quartet shared were out, aside from the lamp on a desk near the window. Additional light floated from the room’s television – tuned to the same news report as the one in the spa – as well as from the blue tablet computer in the hands of the tall, leanly-built man sitting on one of the beds. He was dressed in a simple white shirt made of light material and black pants.

 

Matt was staring emptily at the screen with his right eye, his left covered by an eyepatch patterned with a purple rose. The object of his depressed fascination was a photograph, depicting a younger, less-disheveled version of himself standing with a younger Olivia and two others, a suited man with spiky blue hair and a vaguely tomboyish woman whose purple hair was bobbed short.

 

Feeling a spike of sorrow, the man adjusted his glasses and brushed aside the lock of his shoulder-length blonde hair that hung over his right eye. He then reached to the table, taking an ornate silver flask in his right hand and sipping from it before returning it to its place.

 

“All of the people whose lives have been destroyed or lost just to get to this point…” Sliding his finger across the tablet’s screen, he brought up a new photograph. This one was of a young woman wearing a frilly green dress that gave a soft complement to her ice-blue pigtails and eyes. He felt another horrible pang of sadness when he set eyes on this one. “Rich, Anabel, Eleanor, Agenta… I’ll take all the grief surrounding you onto myself. It’s my fault all of this happened, and I’ll make my quest for the truth bring you justice.”

 

-:-

 

The next day, clouds were beginning to gather over New Bark Town.

 

Bunny, now wearing a stately black-and-gray business suit, and Olivia, who was wrapped in a blue cape with silver lining, were waiting in the lobby of the resort. They were unable to leave until Nekou and Matt joined them, so they were conversing further between themselves.

 

“So did you make up your mind yet, Olivia?” Bunny thoughtfully asked, genuinely curious about Olivia’s pending choice of starter Pokémon.

 

“I’m going to take Totodile,” the girl decisively declared, tapping her pink boots against the floor in an alternating fashion. “Cyndaquil is very cute, but I can’t just ignore the fact that Totodile is a Water-type. Surely, if I enter the Pokémon League and Grand Festival with a Water-type starter Pokémon, my dad will have to take notice, right?”

 

Bunny nodded, but she could not find any words to verbally answer. Olivia bringing up her father, Rich, and his own preference for Water-types put Bunny in an awkward positon. She did not want to lie to Olivia, but at the same time, she felt an obligation to respect Matt’s wish to not tell Olivia of Rich’s death as well.

 

Luckily, the situation disappeared by itself when Nekou came swaggering into the lobby with a croissant caked in icing in her hand. The neckline of her black blouse was rather low, exposing quite a bit of her cleavage, while her midriff was also uncovered due to only one of the buttons on the garment actually being closed; as a result, the bottom of it moved around over her ruffled black skirt. Her gait was further exaggerated by the boots she wore, which went up to her knees, and the socks that continued from there to her thighs.

 

“You shouldn’t worry about what your dad thinks about your choice,” Nekou advised Olivia in a rather blithe manner. “Live for yourself. Do what makes you happy. Is Totodile the one you truly want for yourself?”

 

“It is,” Olivia confirmed with a quick nod. However, her mood quickly darkened when she attempted to come up with an explanation of why. “It’s a Water-type, and if I don’t pick a Water-type…”

 

Leaning down, Nekou put her hands on Olivia’s shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. “Don’t worry. Even if you don’t have any idea right now… you’ll find something. You’ll find your place where everything is as it should be, and when you do, you’ll know.”

 

“I…” Unable to find enough words for a proper response, Olivia looked away from Nekou in shame. “I’m sorry. I have to find him no matter what I have to do.”

 

“That’s okay. You’ll come across your truth eventually. I trust you.”

 

“Nekou, have you seen Matt anywhere?” Bunny stepped in to ask. “Did you see him on the way down here?”

 

“I haven’t seen that bastard anywhere,” Nekou replied, rising to her full height as she did so. “Maybe we should just leave his ass here.”

 

“That bastard, as you call him, is right here.” Now dressed in a blue longcoat with silver edges and yellow feather patterns on the lapels, Matt stepped closer to the others after arriving in the lobby himself. He also had a dark blue messenger bag printed with a logo of the wingspan of a white dragon Pokémon slung over his right shoulder. “I was arranging for the resort to send our property ahead to Cherrygrove City. What have I missed? Did I hear that Olivia decided on her starter Pokémon?”

 

“She had it narrowed down to Totodile or Cyndaquil and picked Totodile,” Nekou said to Matt, informing him of the previous conversations, “but that doesn’t mean much if you didn’t want to hang out with us.”

 

“Oh please, Nekou, spare me. Let’s just be here to support Olivia today, alright?”

 

Nekou grimaced at Matt, having been seeking more of a rise out of him than she got. Perhaps, then, it was a good thing that Bunny provided a distraction by refocusing the conversation on Olivia herself.

 

“Did you already tell Minccino and Roselia about your choice?”

 

“Not yet, Bunny, but I will. Let’s get going to Professor Elm’s lab.”

 

Olivia rushed ahead and out of the hotel, forcing Matt, Nekou and Bunny to run after her. This led them outside into the busy common area of New Bark Town, which still served as its community center despite the modernizations of the area. They weren’t far from Elm’s laboratory, so it took about seven minutes at this brisk, fast-walking pace for the entire group to reach the building marked “Elm Pokémon Lab,” a humble, two-story house that was beginning to look out of place in the quickly-modernizing town.

 

“Well, this is it,” Matt mused, looking up at the lab. “Once we pass through that door, there’s no turning back. Are you ready, Olivia?”

 

“Hell yeah, I am! Let’s go!”

 

“I love your energy,” Nekou remarked before pushing the button next to the door, causing it to slide open.

 

Inside the lab was a rigid but warm-looking place, filled with shelves and computer units. Despite the obviously scientific nature of the facility, it still came off as a welcoming place, well-suited to the place where trainers would collect their starter Pokémon.

 

“Professor Elm, I’m here for my starter Pokémon!” Olivia called out.

 

At that moment was when what would be the first of many strange events took place.

 

Olivia and the others were expecting to see an awkward, nerdy-looking man with glasses and brown hair, but he wasn’t there. Instead, the only person present in the lab was a woman, wearing her hair in a thick ball, who had a briefcase at her side. She seemed just as surprised to the group as they were to see her.

 

“Professor… Juniper?” Nekou breathed, thoroughly confused.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 1**


	2. A New Rival and a New Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia gets her starter Pokemon, but things don’t turn out the way they intended, and later, things escalate when she meets a mysterious young man who bears hatred for her missing father. Meanwhile, the few remaining members of Team Rocket prepare to take on a mission they may not be able to face: defeating Polaris.

Hopefully some of the rough patches out of the gate will be smoothed over here. The story in this chapter should be much more organized.

 

So, let’s get to it…

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 2:** A New Rival and a New Mission

 

-:-

 

In the main chamber of Professor Elm’s laboratory, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny found themselves face-to-face not with Elm but with a lab coat-wearing woman whose wide, pale-green eyes and curled mouth reflected a similar sense of surprise.

 

“Professor… Juniper?” Nekou slowly gasped, taking a step back.

 

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” came the cheerful reply, spoken by Juniper as she turned her head to work out a cramp in her neck. “And of course, I know who you four are. I’d be quite the fool if I didn’t recognize the heroes of Whitegold City, right? Doubly so for me, no less.”

 

“Please don’t take this as any disrespect,” Matt said, nervously adjusting his glasses. He was wearing a different pair that covered his left eye with a golden, Ho-oh themed mask with a purple rose eyepiece, instead of his usual eyepatch. Finally continuing, he asked, “but what are you talking about, and why are you here, anyway? Where’s Elm?”

 

“Oh, that’s right, there’s no way you could have known that Fennel was my old roommate from college. She called me right after you guys saved her. I want you to tell me all about your interactions with Victini and the events of Whitegold City, but first, about Elm…” As soon as she breached the topic of the other Professor’s whereabouts, Juniper’s expression and attitude noticeably darkened. Olivia picked up on this and fidgeted uneasily, while Bunny almost seemed as if she was holding her breath. As for Juniper herself, her voice became much more serious. “I came to New Bark Town to work on data with Professor Elm regarding the migration of Pokémon from the Unova Region into the Tohjo Continent.”

 

“Ah, that’s right,” Bunny commented to herself, “the government is working to bring foreign Pokémon in from Unova so trainers here have more diverse options.”

 

“When I got here,” continued Juniper, “Elm was gone. His family told me that he said he was going to visit his friend Mr. Pokémon on Route 30, but he never came back. You can obviously guess the problem this presents, because in his absence, there aren’t any starter Pokémon.”

 

“What?!!” Olivia exclaimed, before Matt, Nekou and Bunny had the chance to ask questions or even ponder the meaning of Professor Elm’s disappearance. “What do you mean, there are no starter Pokémon?” she screamed, so enraged by this sudden swerve in her anticipated schedule that her eyes almost looked like they were going to pop out of her head. “I would have just gone right to get my first badge if I would have known!”

 

“Now, Olivia,” Matt cautiously ventured, setting his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to pacify her, “I’m sure Professor Juniper doesn’t mean you any harm, so being rude to her isn’t nice…”

 

Turning her frustrated anger on Matt, Olivia threw his hand away and yelled, “You’re not my dad, so don’t tell me what to do!”

 

Nekou and Bunny shared concerned glances with each other, then with Juniper before all three turned to Matt, who returned their gazes. Matt knew all too well that he wasn’t Olivia’s dead father, nor could he ever try to be. What he had hoped to accomplish was bringing Olivia to a point where he could tell her the truth about her beloved father’s demise instead of lying and claiming he left on a trip, but that was clearly not going to happen any time soon.

 

“You haven’t really wasted your time, though, Olivia.” As she said this, Juniper lifted up a briefcase that had been resting on the floor next to her. She set it down on a nearby table and flipped it open, revealing two Poké Balls amid a multitude of papers and field equipment. “I brought a few Pokémon with me from Unova when I came here. If you’ll agree to help me with my work, I can give you one.”

 

The sight of the two spheres in Juniper’s briefcase brought light to Olivia’s blue eyes. Her mood changed immediately; once again, her mind was filled with thoughts of an epic adventure ending with her becoming a famous trainer, which Olivia believed would bring her father back to her. She didn’t even think to ask what Juniper wanted her to do in exchange, but even if she had considered it, she wouldn’t have cared.

 

“That’s good for me, then!” she declared excitedly. “I’ll take Totodile, please!”

 

“Yeah, um, about that…” Olivia couldn’t see them behind her, but Matt, Nekou and Bunny all saw Juniper’s grimace and knew what was coming next. “These two Pokémon aren’t Johto Region starter Pokémon. Allow me to show you them up close.”

 

After taking the Poké Balls out of the briefcase, Juniper popped them open, causing two flashes of light to take shape in front of the extremely disappointed Olivia. One of the bursts took the shape of a red-and-black piglet with some yellow above its snout and a curly tail, while the other transformed into a blue-bodied sea otter whose head and arms were white.

 

“Tepig and Oshawott,” Nekou quickly identified.

 

“I have to pick one of these two?” Olivia complained, shutting her eyes in exasperation. “Please tell me this is a cruel joke…”

 

“Olivia, don’t complain.” Matt reached into his closed longcoat, a mostly blue article enhanced with silver lining around its edges and a yellow feather pattern on each lapel. He withdrew a rectangular smartphone and touched its screen several times, opening an application titled ‘Pokédex 3D.’ “Tepig is a Fire-type Pokémon, while Oshawott is a Water-type Pokémon. Both of them have quite a bit of potential.”

 

“But I wanted Totodile! I didn’t come all the way out here just to settle for something I don’t want!”

 

“Please, Olivia, I ask that you give these two a chance,” requested Juniper. “They, along with the Grass-type Pokémon Snivy, are the starter Pokémon of the Unova Region. Tepig is a dependable partner who will ultimately evolve into the powerful Fire-and-Fighting-type Pokémon Emboar…” Tepig responded to Juniper’s praise by snorting enthusiastically, snorting out some small embers. “…while Oshawott fights with the shell on its stomach, and as it passes through evolutionary stages toward its ultimate form, Samurott, it first gains a second shell and then a pair of formidable shell swords.”

 

Evidently having picked up on Olivia’s complaint about not being able to select Totodile, a Water-type Pokémon, Oshawott focused on impressing her by detaching and wielding his shell. It didn’t work, and Olivia simply kept pouting.

 

“I went through a lot of time trying to figure out what Pokémon to take,” she repeated, “and I decided I wanted Totodile. I don’t know if I can get behind either of these two.”

 

“Would you at least give them some consideration, Olivia?”

 

Olivia crossed her arms in response to Bunny’s request. “I guess,” she answered bitterly. “But don’t expect me to decide quickly. My starter Pokémon was supposed to be something that could stand right alongside me, Minccino and Roselia as we won badges and Ribbons, which would force my dad to notice me again. It was never supposed to start like this.”

 

“Let’s go get something to eat,” Matt suggested while slipping his phone back into his coat. Despite his outer air of calm, his nerves were tightly wound. “You can think on it while we eat, and everything will turn out fine.”

 

“May I join you?” Juniper asked sweetly. “I really would like to hear about the things you guys have seen so far.”

 

“Of course!” Bunny answered. “You’re more than welcome.”

 

With nods from all the others except for Olivia, Juniper’s request was confirmed. She recalled Tepig and Oshawott to their Poké Balls, then put the balls away in the briefcase, closed it and picked it up before following Matt’s group out.

 

-:-

 

Time had not been kind to Doctor Gabriel Zager. In the intervening eleven years between his escape from Polaris and the present, his once-orderly brown hair had become a frizzled mess with the same ghostly white pallor his moustache had also taken on. He had long since replaced his glasses with a monocle over his left eye – the one in which his vision actually was weaker – but he dressed similarly to before, wearing a rumpled purple shirt and gray trousers underneath his unkempt white lab coat.

 

Dr. Zager’s working environment was very different than what he had before, too. His new lab was falling apart in places – wood paneling was cracking off the walls, the red curtains over the windows were riddled with tears, and some ceiling tiles were missing, creating holes through which wires of multiple colors could hang through. True to the nature of its occupant, though, the lab’s equipment was still meticulously kept, affording Zager a full array of high-tech tools.

 

Keeping the scientist company were two very different individuals. One was a Galvantula, the evolved form of the Joltik he’d kept as a pet since his days as a member of Polaris; the large, six-eyed yellow-and-blue spider Pokémon busily skittered about the lab, amusing herself by staying active.

 

The other was a curvaceous woman in a white blouse and skirt, an outfit accented by bits of black around her neck, midsection and wrists as well as down at the end of the skirt, near her knee-high white boots. Her bright red hair stood out like a spotlight against the rather droll surroundings of the laboratory, and in her boredom, she was lounging in a chair next to a coffee table away from Zager’s work space, her feet up on a torn ottoman. Zager was absorbed in working at his computer bank, so to break the monotony of the situation she was eating a box of doughnuts one-by-one while drinking what appeared to be a glass of whiskey.

 

“I hope you’re going to clean up that mess when you’re done, Ariana,” Zager snapped irritably when he spotted the doughnut crumbs falling all over the floor. His eyes briefly glanced to the black badge on the chest of her uniform, which bore the insignia of a red letter ‘R.’ He then said, “I don’t care if you’re an Executive or not. Giovanni knows I need my space to work.”

 

“Don’t be such a killjoy, Zager,” Ariana flippantly countered, making sure to drop another batch of crumbs deliberately. “Look at how run-down this place is. A few crumbs aren’t going to ruin anything. Not to mention Galvantula’s picking them up anyway…” This fact was true, and Zager couldn’t ignore his Pokémon skittering about to collect the crumbs. “…and I’m sick, did you forget?”

 

“That’s right, you just reminded me. Put the booze away, it’s time for your medicine.”

 

Ariana sighed in disappointment but put her whiskey down anyway, because she knew that Zager was right. After collecting a medicine bottle from the table, she walked over to a nearby counter, where there was a pot of coffee being kept hot. She poured herself a share into one of Zager’s aged coffee cups – he’d collected them during his time with Polaris and was reluctant to let them go – and then dropped one of the oblong pills out of the bottle into her hand. Without skipping a beat, she swallowed the pill and then immediately followed it with a huge gulp of the coffee, despite it being completely black and quite hot.

 

“Ah, medicine you have to take with coffee instead of water. A miracle of modern science.”

 

“Indeed, it was a wise creation.” A sharp rapping at the door interrupted Zager, and he turned toward the portal before yelling, “Come in!”

 

Opening the door swiftly and deliberately, Pierce walked in, leading Jessie, James and Meowth in as well. Aside from the short feline Pokémon who was wearing no shoes, their steps made loud creaking sounds come from the floor; this was especially true of the heavy boots Pierce was wearing. Immediately upon seeing Zager, Jessie, James and Meowth all looked at each other in nervous surprise.

 

“Team Rocket Elite Agent Pierce reporting,” the mysterious agent said, bowing slightly to both Zager and Ariana. He removed his trench coat as he spoke, eventually revealing a gray uniform with the red ‘R’ insignia on it. “Executive Ariana, I have brought the agents as stipulated by emergency protocol Code Black Seven.”

 

“At ease, Pierce,” Ariana casually replied, waving her hand. “There’s really no need to be so serious. Not here, at least.” Picking up the box of doughnuts, which she had only eaten half of, she offered, “Any of you want some of these?”

 

“No thank you, Executive Ariana.” Pierce remained as rigid as ever, despite Ariana’s clear attempt to bring a more casual mood to the gathering. “It would be unbecoming of me to so readily accept an unearned bonus.”

 

“You really shouldn’t be such a stiff, Pierce. Look, they’ve got the right idea.”

 

Ariana gestured to Jessie, James and Meowth; the three had each taken considerable shares of the confections and now were eating them voraciously, earning a chuckle from not only the Executive but Zager as well.

 

“This certainly is bringing back memories,” he said, while stepping away from his computer console with his arms crossed behind his back. “Welcome, Jessie, James, Meowth. It’s been quite a while since we last met.”  


“The operations in Unova, to be exact,” Jessie clarified. “So the boss kept you working while we were put on standby?”

 

After Zager responded by nodding, James asked a question of his own. “What’s happened, then? The code that the boss activated was only supposed to be used for absolutely the worst emergencies. Does this have to do with his house arrest?”

 

“Let me show you.” Zager walked back to his computer and entered a command into it, prompting the screen to display the double-helix-themed ‘P’ logo of Polaris. “Code Black Seven, the protocol Giovanni activated, was brought on by an attack members of Polaris staged on a speech given by Matt Chiaki last week in Whitegold City.”   


As he spoke, Zager’s computer displayed footage of this incident. Three people in white lab coats were commanding a trio of Magneton to attack Matt, while Bunny fought to shield him using her Ninetales. Eventually, Nekou knocked out two of the attackers by hitting them in the shoulders with the heels of her shoes, then stopped the third by stabbing him in the back with her knife.

 

“Before that,” the doctor continued, “all of Polaris’s moves were merely their activities as a religious cult. This action shows that they are becoming a much more aggressive organization, which in turn must mean that their plans are nearing completion. Great care must be taken to prevent what they’re aiming for from coming to fruition.”

 

“And you’re placing that job in our hands?”

 

“Yes, Jessie. While we have other agents still on staff, your experience in battling Team Plasma in Unova may be of precious importance.”

 

“Well then, I would say that Polaris should prepare for trouble,” she shouted, posing dramatically.

 

“And they best get ready, because we’re bringing double,” James added.

 

“We’ll protect the world from their devasta…”

 

“Would you two just shut up already?” Meowth snapped angrily. “We’ve been past the motto thing for years now! There’s no reason to start it up again!”

 

“Can I at least get to say that we’ll keep them from uniting all peoples within their nation?” asked a pouting James.

 

“Meowth is right, the motto goes,” Zager warned, not even bothering to turn around. “We are aware that Polaris may be planning a major operation, therefore, we must try to get the upper hand on them. Have a look at this.”

 

Several new windows opened on the computer’s screen. The outlying ones displayed differing energy readout charts, while the most important one at the center showed a three-dimensional image of a giant, jagged rock floating through outer space.

 

“This is the meteor Persephone-2213, which is currently on a track to make its closest pass to Earth in over a millennium. Some smaller meteorites from the cloud surrounding it have passed through the planet’s atmosphere and impacted. It is believed that Persephone-2213 and its surrounding satellites are made of Meteonite, the element we discovered in Unova. As you may remember, Meteonite is a highly conductive element with extremely unusual reactive properties, and we do not know everything about it yet.”

 

“You’re going to tell us to go get one, aren’t you?” Jessie complained, shrugging her shoulders. “Don’t you remember what happened last time we messed with that thing?”

 

“The boss docked us pay and lunch for nearly blowing up Castelia City,” James added, his voice reflecting a clear timid attitude.

 

“And we ain’t getting involved in that again!” finished Meowth.

 

“You don’t have a choice,” Zager said sternly, “procuring a Meteonite fragment may give us an upper hand against Polaris. Our rudimentary radar devices have been able to pick up faint traces of the energy signature associated with Meteonite on the west end of Route 29 near Cherrygrove City. I want you three to go with Pierce to Cherrygrove City, determine the exact location of the Meteonite shard there and attempt to capture it.”

 

“We’ll be coordinating everything on our end from here,” Ariana chimed in to explain. “Any necessary supplies you’ll need can be provided here as well. After you get suited up, we’ll get you your equipment so the mission can begin.”

 

Turning away from Ariana, Jessie inquired, “I assume that you’ll be the one providing us with our tools again, Dr. Zager?”

 

“That’s right. I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”

 

“This really is just like old times, then,” she said to James as they both turned.

 

“The stakes weren’t this high last time, though.” A strange hint of sadness could be noticed in James’s voice; the meaning of their new mission had clearly already taken its toll on him.

 

Jessie and James eventually walked off in the direction of another exit from the lab, with Meowth and Pierce silently following. Pierce ended up being the last one to pass through the door, so he closed it behind himself. Once they were alone again, Zager and Ariana shared an uneasy glare between themselves.

 

“Do you really think they’re going to be okay dealing with all of this?” he wondered aloud.

 

“I sure hope so.”

 

-:-

 

Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Professor Juniper were sitting around a table in the elegant café they had selected for their meal. Each had a plate of food sitting on the white cloth covering the table before them, and they were talking intently as they ate.

 

“So, Olivia, what are your goals for your journey?” asked Juniper, puckering her lips after taking a sip of the hot tomato soup she had ordered.

 

“I want my dad to come back,” Olivia responded, prompting a nervous exchange of glances between the adults, who all knew that her father Rich was gone. “He left because I wasn’t living up to his expectations. That’s what I believe. If I can win a lot of badges and Ribbons, and win the Pokémon League and Grand Festival, he’ll have to admit I’m good and come back to love me again.”

 

“And where do you think your dad is right now?”

 

“I don’t know. I’m sure he’s watching me, though. He’ll come back.”

 

Pensively poking at the eggs and sausage on his plate, Matt added, “Rich disappeared five years ago, as you already know, Professor. I was there.”

 

“Wait, you saw what happened to him?” Bunny choked out, half-swallowing a scoop of oatmeal in her haste.

 

“I was there the day he disappeared, yes. I guess it all started six years ago, while I was in the region of Oceannia looking for Spheres to aid in the development of the ALEA, my clean energy invention. Well…” Matt’s expression and tone both soured noticeably as he pulled down the wide brim of his blue-and-silver hat. “It was me and my supposed girlfriend Cassy, actually. We both met up with Olivia and Rich and her mother Anabel then. That was when they were fighting that terrorist group that called itself Enigma Shadow.”

 

“‘Supposed’ girlfriend?” Nekou sniffed, barely hiding a condescending tone in her voice. “Why would a _ladies man_ like you need to say that, I wonder?”

 

“Nekou, shut up,” Matt sighed, readjusting his hat; the yellow feather tucked into it trembled slightly as he did so. “To make the very long story very short, she wasn’t who she said she was and we split on very bad terms. Anyway, Enigma Shadow was trying to take over the world with Pokémon whose hearts were sealed, rendering them soulless battling machines. Olivia’s parents were leading the charge to stop Enigma Shadow from realizing their plans using these Shadow Pokémon. Eventually, the person that was manipulating the organization, a woman named Judy, managed to call forth Arceus. She lost control of it, though, and in the confusion Rich saved us all before disappearing.

 

But yes, I was there the last time any of us saw Rich. I think he knew something was going to happen, though, because he left instructions for me to take Olivia under my wing, which is what I’ve been doing for the past five years.”

 

“I’ve learned a lot from Matt,” Olivia bragged, before sarcastically adding, “at least he’s good for that much.”

 

“Well, I’ve really been learning alongside you,” Matt said, seemingly brushing off her insult. In actuality, he was glad to have her saying such things, because it meant that she wasn’t becoming emotional over discussing her father. “That was the entire point of it all.”

 

“So… I understand you four have been on some pretty exciting adventures and met some Legendary Pokémon already.”

 

Juniper mentioning the travels the group had already experienced was what it took to loosen up Olivia’s attitude. Her eyes lit up, and she began shouting excitedly, “We have! We met a bunch of rare Pokémon and time traveled at the Indigo Plateau, and then in Whitegold City, we saw Victini, Cresselia and Darkrai!”

 

“My, my, Olivia,” laughed the professor, “there’s no need to get ahead of yourself. Tell me about what happened at the Indigo Plateau first, how about that?”

 

“Matt was teaching me for the past five years at the Rustboro School in Hoenn,” Olivia explained, toning back her enthusiasm only slightly. “We went to the Indigo Plateau before coming here because my mom was hosting the Frontier Society’s opening commemoration tournament.”

 

“Did you participate?”

 

“No.”

 

“I did, though,” Matt offered to supply some additional information. “I competed alongside Tanya, my Heatran. Unfortunately, the tournament got interrupted by Team Rocket’s attack, and I had to help the police bring Team Rocket’s boss into custody instead.”

 

“I got the job of being Matt’s bodyguard at the same time, too,” Nekou sarcastically added, “and he was lucky to have me guarding it.”

 

Playing no mind to the clenched expression Matt was showing in response to Nekou’s comments, Juniper turned to Bunny and asked, “So where do you fit into all of this, Bunny?”

 

“I already had arrangements with Matt. We were looking for the ruins of an ancient town called Argyros that once stood near the Indigo Plateau. Little did we expect that finding them would be the easy part.”

 

“So we went up to the ruins of Argyros Town, and this weird Pichu appeared,” elaborated Olivia. “I followed it and it led us to a strange light inside a temple.”

 

“It was a Time Ripple,” Matt clarified, much to the surprise of Juniper, who visibly jumped at the mention of it.

 

“You found one of those?!” In her excitement, Juniper slammed both of her hands down on the table and stood up. Bunny held onto the side of her oatmeal bowl to stabilize it, while Nekou and Olivia nonchalantly continued eating their bacon strips and blueberry muffin, respectively. “That’s a portal opened from another place in time!”

 

“We know,” Matt chuckled, “because we went through it. On the other side was this country in the year 1850. A military official of the era was planning to overthrow the government there, and we ended up getting roped into helping stop him.”

 

“And I got to be a hero!”

 

“Don’t sell her short,” Bunny said of Olivia to Juniper, “she really was brave during the war that broke out. She was right out there with the soldiers trying to quell the rebellion doing her part to fight. I, for one, was very impressed.”

 

“It sounds like you did a very good job,” the professor complimented as she sat back down. “Olivia, if you were able to fight like that, then you already possess a pretty impressive skill set, and that’ll come in handy for you out there on your journey. Of course, that’s not the only big thing you’ve been involved in… there’s still the events in Whitegold City. You must tell me everything that happened there!”

 

“Someone’s really worked up,” Nekou deadpanned, her eyes half-closed behind her glasses.

 

Growing flustered, Juniper tried to explain, saying, “The incident in Whitegold City has been all over the news, and one thing I know about it is that Victini was deeply involved. I… I want to know what happened there from the people who witnessed Victini’s power firsthand. It’s for my research!”

 

“For science, huh? I guess you’re calling yourself a mad scientist, then, because only people like me get to use that one.”

 

“Nekou, don’t, please,” Matt argued. He got a glare shot his way by Nekou for his trouble, but it did manage to stop her from saying anything further. Sighing, Matt returned to answering Juniper’s question. “We went to Whitegold City so I could give a speech about new energy sources at the behest of Captain Liam Everton, the president of oil conglomerate Everton International. Or maybe I should say former president, now that he’s dead, but…”

  
“That little prick…” Olivia growled into the crumb-covered plate before her, paying no mind to the shocked look Matt gave her over her language.

 

“Now, now, Olivia, there’s no need to use those kinds of words,” he gently suggested.

 

“And what of it if she does?” Nekou rudely interjected. “Words are words. They don’t hurt anyone… unless you make them.”

 

Much to Matt’s relief, he was saved from getting into a hopeless argument with Nekou when Juniper piped up, interrupting the escalating scene.

 

“What’s going on? What are you talking about?”

 

“Well,” Matt explained, “As it turned out, Liam Everton was in pursuit of Victini because he hoped to gain the power of the Victory Star from it. To that end, he released a Darkrai into the city, forcing Victini’s guardian, Cresselia, to come out and fight it. It fell to the four of us, along with a team we assembled, to stop him. Our allies were Liam Everton’s former first mate from his naval years, an old fortuneteller woman, a magician and his assistant, an undercover reporter and a posh girl we happened to meet named Katorena.”

 

“The Victory Star is the power to see the way to victory itself,” Bunny added, noting Juniper’s expression of intense concentration. “I could tell you were about to ask that. Normally, the power is obtained through the creation of a mental contract between the recipient and Victini, and will guide the way only to the specific victory the recipient desires most at the time of the contract’s creation. Everton wanted more than that. He devised a way to make his mind completely blank when he made his contract, which rendered him able to use the Victory Star in any way he wished. He was going to use it to take control of the entire world’s oil supply and bring all nations under his rule, but first, he viciously attacked and tried to kill all of us while using its power to make his Pokémon stronger.”

 

“We had to fight back.” Unlike Matt and Bunny, recalling the events of the Whitegold City crisis visibly disturbed Olivia, a fact the others hadn’t been aware of before. She had her hands rolled into fists so tightly that her fingernails were almost piercing the skin of her palms, and her whole body was shuddering subtly. “It took all of us to pull it off. We spread illusions of Victini throughout Whitegold City to waste Everton’s time, and all it did was leave us all to fight him individually. He ended up flooding the city anyway, and it took Matt’s Golurk and Sigilyph and then Victini itself to finally stop that horrible dragon…”

 

“Horrible dragon?” Juniper questioned, puckering her lips.

 

“That mean old man had a Hydreigon, and that was the Pokémon he used to try and kill us,” finished Olivia, her voice shaking all the while.

 

“That makes sense when I consider the details.” Surprisingly, Juniper was now speaking and conducting herself in a very serious manner. “Hydreigon is a terribly brutal species of Pokémon, known for attacking just about anything in the wild. It is easy to see how that power could be used to very dangerous degree if harnessed by the wrong person. Is there anything more to your tale, Olivia? Has anything else happened since Whitegold City?”

 

“We stayed over there for a little while and then came right here, so no.”

 

“In that case, then, Olivia…” Before asking the fateful question, Juniper wiped the last drop of her soup from her lip and pushed her empty bowl away. “…have you finally decided which starter Pokémon you’d like yet?”

 

All eyes moved to Olivia as Matt, Nekou and Bunny all anticipated what she’d say. In their minds, they had opinions of their own – Bunny actually suspected that Olivia might break the mold and take the Fire-type Tepig, while Matt and Nekou thought that she’d take Oshawott instead. Both sides used the same logic to arrive at their conclusions; that logic being the idea of each starter Pokémon attracting Rich’s attention in some way.

 

Finally, Olivia swallowed the last bite of her muffin and sharply stood up. “It’ll be Oshawott. No matter what’s happened, I can’t betray my dad’s expectations by going with a Fire-type. That said, I still wanted Totodile, so this is just another Pokémon to me.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be a little more enthusiastic, Olivia?” Matt asked. “Oshawott’s going to be with you for your whole journey, so…”

 

“I don’t even really care,” Olivia growled back, showing a degree of indignation. “I’m only taking it because I pretty much have to take _something_.”

 

Olivia’s attitude clearly disturbed Juniper, who stared at her with a stunned look of confusion in her eyes. In her home region she’d been distributing starter Pokémon for a long time, but she was unable to recall any other time that a new trainer had so much indifference toward the entire process. However, she then remembered a trainer to whom she’d given a Snivy some years ago; at the time, he kept saying that he only wished to become stronger at any cost, but eventually, he learned to understand his Pokémon more and eventually became a respected Gym Leader in Unova.

 

With that memory in mind and the reasoning that Olivia could change too, Juniper lifted up her briefcase onto the table and flipped it open. The first thing she removed was the Poké Ball containing Oshawott, which she set on the table and pushed toward Olivia.

 

“If Oshawott is your choice, here you go. I hope you’ll get along well. Why not let him out?”

 

Sighing, Olivia picked up the Poké Ball and opened it. “Fine.”

 

From the flash of light that emerged from the ball, Oshawott took shape. He looked inquisitively at Olivia, Matt and Nekou before finally looking back to Olivia and realizing that he must have been the one she selected. Excited to have received this honor, Oshawott cheerfully plucked his shell off his chest and tossed it into the air before catching and replacing it.

 

“He’s pretty cute!” Bunny exclaimed with a laugh. “Olivia, I think he actually really suits you.”

 

“Totodile would have suited me better, but I guess this is going to have to work out.”

 

Noticing that Oshawott was upset by Olivia’s comments, Nekou decided to try and lighten the mood at the table. Taking out a Poké Ball of her own, she said, “Olivia, you really should give Oshawott a chance. He might surprise you. Perhaps it will help if Marie does something?”

 

Nekou opened her Poké Ball, releasing a Sneasel. Marie yawned and stretched out her black body before looking down and taking notice of Oshawott; she made a face to playfully intimidate the young Water-type before snatching his shell with her sharp white claws and running off. Infuriated, Oshawott jumped off the table after Marie and chased her, causing all the people seated there – even Olivia – to laugh.

 

“Now, Olivia,” Juniper spoke up, being the first to return to attention, “about the other half of our deal. I said I would give you one of my Pokémon in exchange for you doing something for me. What I would like you to do…” Before continuing, Juniper took a pink, cell-phone shaped device out of her briefcase and showed it to the others; it had a pattern of a sideways Poké Ball on its bottom half and a screen on its top, with a second screen able to be flipped out from behind. “I would like you to take this Pokédex and help me by documenting the Unova Pokémon you see in Johto and Kanto. My assistant is out there conducting research on how our migration efforts are progressing, but I could use a second set of eyes in the field. It would help me learn more about how the Unova Pokémon are acclimating to their new environments and interacting with the Pokémon species native to this continent.”

 

“I don’t see any reason why I can’t do that,” Olivia replied, accepting the Pokédex into her possession. “It’ll be a good adventure, and one more thing I can try to do well.”

 

“I know you’ll pull it off, Olivia,” Matt complimented, albeit rather feebly. “All the learning you’ve done should pay off now.”

 

“Of course it will. Do you really think _I’ll_ fail?”

 

-:-

 

With Jessie, James and Meowth riding as passengers, Pierce was driving his car through an underground tunnel. All of them were now disguised in identical black trench coats, fedoras and sunglasses; even Meowth, despite his smaller, feline body, had one suited for him.

 

In the dashboard of the car was a small video screen, through which Dr. Zager was communicating with the four.

 

“Proceed to the checkpoint inside Dark Cave,” the elderly scientist instructed his agents. “From there, go south on foot until you are just outside Cherrygrove City, and attempt to confirm the location of the Meteonite shard.”

 

“Understood, Dr. Zager,” Pierce stiffly responded, not removing his eyes from the rough road ahead.

 

Suddenly bursting into the picture by pushing Zager aside, Ariana loudly directed, “Jessie, James, Meowth, I don’t want you guys taking any crazy risks on this operation. We can’t afford a major confrontation with Polaris yet. For that reason, I’ve prepared a contingency plan in case something happens to prevent you from collecting the Meteonite shard itself.”

 

“A contingency plan?” Jessie repeated questioningly.

 

“You two didn’t brief us on the details of such a thing,” James quietly complained, poking his fingers together.

 

“You need not worry about briefing,” Zager informed them, making his way back into view as best he could. “I took the liberty of adding all necessary mission plans to your new R-Pad, which is chief among your equipment.”

 

“Great!” Meowth shrilled. “Now, let’s go get that chunk of space rock and show those freaks that they should fear us!”

 

-:-

 

The doors of the café opened, allowing Marie and Oshawott to dart out, still engaged in their chase over Oshawott’s shell. Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Professor Juniper followed, all laughing at the childlike intensity of Oshawott’s quest to save his shell from the mischievous Sneasel. Matt brought up the rear, as he was finishing putting his coat back on.

 

“The first place you’ll want to go is Violet City,” Juniper was explaining in her usual cheery mood. “The Gym there specializes in Flying-type Pokémon. Since you have to go through Route 29, Cherrygrove City, Route 30 and Route 31 to get there, you should be more than prepared to face the Gym Leader.”

 

“I’ll be ready!” Determination flowed from Olivia, surrounding her like a cloud. One could tell from her eyes alone that the daunting task she faced did not intimidate her. Even while paying little mind to what Oshawott could be capable of, she was more than confident that her other Pokémon could do the job.

 

“If we’ll be passing through Cherrygrove City, that’s good for me, too,” Matt commented, finally catching up to the others. “I’ve heard Cherrygrove City is where the Battle Arcade, the first of the seven facilities associated with the Frontier Society, is located. I don’t really have any leads on what I’m looking for myself yet, so I figure that’s as good a place to start as any.”

 

“It’s sounding like we’re going to be quite busy soon. Not that I’m complaining, all this stuff sounds exci…”

 

“You four! I finally found you!”

 

Bunny was cut off mid-sentence by a deep male voice with a commanding, nearly bone-chilling presence. It belonged to the young man blocking their path to the outskirts of New Bark Town, a strange figure wrapped in a long, ragged black poncho who kept his appearance carefully hidden using a stitched-up black hat and a dark green scarf, leaving only his sea-green eyes visible.

 

“Oh, joy,” Nekou deadpanned, “a roadblock already.”

 

“Who are you?” Matt demanded in annoyance. “Tell us now or get out of the way. We’re busy.”

 

“So the sycophants of the false messiah Rich Mistbloom still fail to recognize the messenger of truth,” the mysterious young man growled from under his scarf. “Unsurprising. Even those who claim to be seeking the truth are truly blind to it.”

 

“You done calling my dad names yet? Keep it up and one of us is going to kick you in the ass.”

 

“Olivia!”

 

Ignoring both Olivia’s threat and Matt’s reaction to it, the strange figure turned his glare to Oshawott and Marie, causing Oshawott to freeze in fear. “Rich Mistbloom was the brother of Sootopolis City Gym Leader and Hoenn Champion Wallace. Olivia, I see that your obsessive dedication to preserving that man’s memory has continued as far as dictating your selection of a starter Pokémon. You asked who I was?” Thrusting out his right arm, the young man revealed a Poké Ball in his hand and the tattered sleeve of his decrepit clothing. “Because you cannot remember despite meeting me at the Indigo Plateau, I’ll remind you that my intention is to show this world the truth about the miserable Rich Mistbloom. Olivia, you call your father a hero, as do many others. Because you identify yourself as his heir, my defeat of you right here will be the first step toward my goal!”

 

“I think this punk is stepping up to you, Olivia,” Nekou whispered. “He’s clearly got a few screws loose, so go ahead. Fuck him up.”

 

“I have every intention of doing that. Hey, Oshawott!” During the young man’s rant, Oshawott had shaken off his fear and finally managed to get his shell back from Marie, so he was able to turn when Olivia called out to him. “If you want to learn how I do stuff, sit on the sidelines and watch this!”

 

Though bothered that Olivia wasn’t picking him for the battle, Oshawott nodded to her and waddled to the sidelines, where he was soon joined by Matt, Nekou and Bunny. Juniper, meanwhile, stood in a position at an equal distance from each of the two trainers.

 

“What shall the rules be for this match?” she asked out loud of them both.

 

“A pair of one-on-one battles with no substitutions,” Olivia’s opponent instructed. “When one side’s Pokémon faints, that matchup is over and both sides must switch.”

 

“Is that acceptable, Olivia?” Juniper called out.

 

“It’s fine by me. Bring it on!”

 

“Well then, this match will now get underway! It’s Olivia versus the… mysterious… um… cloaked trainer? Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Send out your Pokémon!”

 

“I’ll be going first!” the young man roared, his cold glare giving way to fire in his eyes. “Timburr, leave port!”

 

The mysterious trainer’s Poké Ball gave way in a blinding burst of light to a small, gray Pokémon holding a beam of wood under his left arm. His body, which was almost entirely pure muscle, had pink veins bulging out in several places.

 

“A new one already?” Olivia wondered. Recalling the instructions she’d just received, she reached for the Pokédex.

 

_“Timburr, the Muscular Pokémon. Type is Fighting. I_ _t fights by swinging a piece of lumber around. It is close to evolving when it can handle the lumber without difficulty. These Pokémon appear at building sites and help out with construction. They always carry squared logs.”_

 

“A Fighting-type… Minccino won’t be any good against that thing…” Olivia mumbled to herself. The circumstances essentially made her mind up for her, and she threw out her other Poké Ball, calling out, “Roselia, let’s play!”

 

Despite his small stature, the mysterious trainer’s Timburr was still taller than Olivia’s Roselia, but she didn’t let that scare her. The tiny flower Pokémon stood bravely before her opponent’s gaze and glared back with all the ferocity she could muster.

 

Off on the side, Bunny said to Matt and Nekou, “A Fighting-type against a Grass-and-Poison-type. Olivia should be able to handle this.”

 

“Yeah,” Matt concurred, before adding, “Fighting-type moves don’t work very well against Poison-types.”

 

“Olivia will win this, I’d even bet a beer and some chips on it.” Nekou took a bite of her butter-drenched bread roll after proclaiming her wager, while Matt and Bunny looked on in exasperation.

 

“The first matchup is Roselia VS. Timburr!” Juniper announced. “Begin!”

 

“Timburr, Pound!” called the cloaked trainer.

 

“Roselia, use Energy Ball!”

 

While Roselia gathered up energy from the terrain around her, giving it the shape of a crackling green sphere, Timburr darted toward her with his right arm pulled back. Upon reaching his target, Timburr swung to punch Roselia; however, he instead hit her Energy Ball, which resulted in it exploding. Both Pokémon took injury from the exchange and were pushed away from each other.

 

“So that’s your short-range tactic. Impressive, just like your father.”

 

Confused by her adversary’s words, Olivia raised an eyebrow and said, “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

 

“So you say. I won’t fall for the deceptive ways you’ve clearly inherited. I have skills of my own too, you know.”

 

“Oh, just shut up already,” Olivia sighed. “Roselia, try a Sludge Bomb!”

 

“Is that how it’s going to be? Timburr, Rock Throw!”

 

Both Pokémon sent projectiles at each other as their respective followup attacks; Roselia generated a blast of purple slime from her flowery arms, while Timburr scraped up a small rock from the ground using his wooden beam before throwing it. Neither had particularly good aim, but Timburr’s Rock Throw actually managed to graze Roselia, her Sludge Bomb missed Timburr entirely. Her right arm went limp as she fell onto the corresponding knee.

 

“Your aim is poor. If you cannot strike me from afar, then this battle is already over. Timburr, use Rock Throw again. Knock out that Roselia’s other leg!”

 

“Don’t give up yet, Roselia!” Olivia cried, trying to conceal the feeling of dread that was creeping over her. “Try another Energy Ball!”

 

With only her left arm immediately mobile, Roselia’s pace in creating the Energy Ball was more sluggish than usual. This left Timburr all the time he needed to pull up and toss another stone, but before her left leg got knocked out by it, she managed to send the Energy Ball flying. Roselia collapsed to the ground just as Timburr got hit in the forehead, singeing the protrusion sticking out from above his eyes.

 

“Roselia!”

 

Olivia’s bad feeling about the situation was shared by Matt, Nekou and Bunny, who were watching the battle unfold in silence. They all recognized that she was in trouble, and reluctantly had to acknowledge that the strange young man was more skilled than they gave him credit for.

 

“Well, Timburr, it’s about time to take what is rightfully ours. Use Pound to finish this up!”

 

“Roselia, get ready!”

 

There was no chance for Roselia to escape from Timburr as the Fighting-type bore down on her. She knew this, so instead of trying in vain to get away, she simply braced herself against the ground.

  
Timburr smiled as he drew closer and closer to his target. The blow he had prepared would surely defeat her, he believed.

 

Little did he expect that getting within range for his strike would leave him wide open for Roselia’s own counterattack. A thorn glowing with purple light suddenly emerged from the rose on Roselia’s right arm, and she drove it into Timburr’s stomach. Caught completely off guard by this Poison Sting, Timburr howled in pain as he flew back through the air. His wooden beam slipped from his grasp during the recoil from the hit, landing a few feet from his trainer.

 

“So you’ve still got some fight left in you,” Olivia’s opponent growled, briefly widening his eyes. “It is clear that you have inherited your father’s clever approach to battling. But I won’t fall to a usurper like you! Timburr, no more games! Use Rock Throw and hold nothing back!”

 

Without his beam to dig up rocks with, Timburr simply shoved his hands into the ground instead, pulling a jagged stone from the earth manually.

 

Feeling the tide of the battle turning, Olivia was able to smile slightly for the first time as she ordered, “Hit Timburr with Sludge Bomb, Roselia! You’ve got a shot!”

 

Roselia’s aim was still off by a bit, but it was not as poor as earlier. She managed to get the blast of sludge to hit Timburr’s lower body, causing him to cringe as the toxins burned his skin. He did, however, manage to fling the rock he was holding back at Roselia, barely missing her due to his weakening stance.

 

Timburr was becoming tired and weak, a fact conveyed by his labored breathing and trembling body. His trainer picked up on this, and resolved to do something about it.

 

“If you’re to keep going, Timburr, you’re going to need more health. Drain Punch!”

 

When Timburr clenched his right fist on this command, a red aura enveloped it. He threw all of his remaining strength into lunging at Roselia one last time, but he realized just as well as Roselia and Olivia did that this was probably a kamikaze attack.

 

“Finish it off with Energy Ball, Roselia!”

 

Drain Punch managed to connect with Roselia, but it was not very effective due its poor type matchup, and Roselia held fast against it. She brought her arms up around Timburr on each side and formed the Energy Ball with her Fighting-type opponent right at the center. The resulting explosion violently threw Roselia back, but while she got back up from skidding on the ground, the smoke cleared to show a clearly unconscious Timburr lying at the center of a ring of burned terrain.

 

“Timburr is no longer able to continue!” Juniper declared, raising her arm toward Olivia and Roselia. “Roselia wins the first round!”

 

“Roselia!” Though victorious, Roselia had suffered some injuries of her own, so Olivia was careful when she picked up the Pokémon in her arms. “You did really well out there, okay? Rest up now.”

 

Hearing a soft chirp in response, Olivia smiled and shuttled her Pokémon over to where her friends were sitting, where she set Roselia down alongside Marie and Oshawott.

 

“I’m very proud of you, Olivia,” Matt said. “You showed some great tactical thinking and on-your-feet decision making just now.”

 

“Thank you. Even if it would mean more coming from my dad, I still like hearing that.”

 

“Here, Olivia, you’ve earned this.” Nekou happened to have another one of the butter-drenched rolls, and as a reward for how well Olivia was doing, she gave it to her. “You’re halfway to cleaning this arrogant little jerk’s clock, so don’t lose your pace now.”

 

“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to.” Turning around but still reveling in the praise given to her by her friends, Olivia strode back to her battle position while eating the roll one bite at a time. She felt like things were happening incredibly fast – the day wasn’t even over yet, and she’d already met a professor, suffered a setback in her quest before it even began and received a substitute for the starter Pokémon she wanted. Now she was in her very first battle as an official trainer and halfway to fully winning it, and it excited her beyond her original goal of impressing her father. Winning, she was quickly coming to discover, felt good.

 

Just as Olivia returned to her position, the young man finally recalled his Timburr, the Pokémon’s wooden beam being pulled into the Poké Ball at the same time as its wielder.

 

“It is unsurprising that you would be able to defeat the weaker of my two Pokémon, Olivia Lynn Mistbloom,” he thundered, his cutting eyes blazing with rage. “Oh, how speaking that name makes my skin crawl. Someone who should not exist has no right to consider themselves entitled to anything more than the air they are lucky enough to breathe! Now… Drowzee, leave port!”

 

The sleepy-looking Pokémon that burst from the young man’s second and final Poké Ball stretched his yellow-and-black body and yawned, the excess air causing his trunk to vibrate. He then moved his gaze to Olivia in an apathetic show of interest in what he’d be facing.

 

“Alright then! I wanted to use you in the last round, but Timburr was just too much for you to handle. This ought to be where you can shine. Minccino, let’s play!”

 

To face Drowzee, Olivia sent out her Minccino, a Pokémon that had the appearance of a gray chinchilla with big black eyes. She cheered happily when she got out of her Poké Ball, but shrunk back slightly when she saw Drowzee lazily staring at her.

 

“The final matchup is Minccino VS. Drowzee! Begin!”

 

“I want to make this quick, Minccino. Hit it with Tail Slap!”

 

Shaking her initial fear off, Minccino ran up to Drowzee and sprang into the air before starting to spin, striking Drowzee in the face repeatedly.

 

“Drowzee, use a close range Poison Gas!”

 

Just as Minccino fell back after the fourth and final hit of Tail Slap, Drowzee expelled a cloud of noxious purple gas from his trunk right into her face. She was overcome by a violent coughing fit and rolled backwards, her movements becoming strained as the poison set in.

 

“Minccino got poisoned!” Bunny exclaimed in dismay. “That’s going to make this all the harder for Olivia…”

 

“Come on, Olivia!” Nekou called out. “Don’t let him get away with that shit! Finish this before it’s too late!”

 

“I’m working on it!” Olivia’s patience was being tried as well, through a combination of the pressure she already felt in addition to her concern for Minccino’s well being. “Do you think you can pull off a Swift, Minccino?”

 

“I won’t let you! Drowzee, Psycho Cut!”

 

Simultaneously, Drowzee quickly crossed and uncrossed his arms to send two blades of concentrated psychic energy at Minccino, while Minccino returned the favor with a shower of star-shaped rays from her tail. Though Drowzee’s trainer had intended for Psycho Cut to block Swift, the stars actually passed right below the energy blades in midair; as a result, both Minccino and Drowzee took harsh blows, Minccino suffering more due to the continuing effects of the poison.

 

 _“If she doesn’t win this quickly, the poison will do her in before Drowzee’s attacks do…”_ Matt thought, shifting uncomfortably. Even though Olivia losing would only cause the battle to end in a tie, he felt that she needed a comfortable victory at this early point.

 

“We can’t do this with just Swift, Minccino! Try Aqua Tail!”

 

“Coming in close again, are you?”

 

Instead of going for multiple hits, this time Minccino aimed squarely for the middle of Drowzee’s head for a single attack using her tail, which had taken on an aquatic blue aura. Drowzee, surprisingly, just stood still, allowing Minccino a clear shot. He barely even flinched when the Aqua Tail made contact.

 

“Perfect range. Now, Drowzee, use Thief.”

 

Drowzee jabbed his right hand forward like a spear, catching Minccino in the stomach as she drifted back after her attack. She squealed in agony from the crushing blow, which sent her crashing to the ground, nearly unable to get up.

 

“M-Minccino…” A conflict was developing in Olivia’s mind; she could not decide if she wanted to win or lose anymore. Obviously, pulling out victory over this opponent would be something that felt very good, but she now questioned if the price was worth it – Minccino could barely stand, suffering greatly under the effects of Drowzee’s Poison Gas and subsequent relentless assault. She began raising her arm to stop the battle, knowing she’d be unable to live with herself if Minccino didn’t come back from this battle.

 

Before she could speak, though, she was cut off by her opponent. “My victory is now assured. This is the first step on my quest to show the truth to the world! So many fools throughout this world see your father as some sort of hero for stopping Enigma Shadow, but I will make them see Rich Mistbloom’s true vile nature!”

 

“That’s enough!” Seeing Olivia about to cry rendered Matt unable to take sitting by any longer, and he jumped up and confronted the angry trainer. “All you’re using your Pokémon for is to destroy the lives of everyone who believed in one person? What could Rich have possibly done to you that justifies what you’re doing right now, cruelly crushing the one thread of hope this girl has?”

 

“Silence yourself, you fool!” he shot back, visibly shocking Olivia, Bunny, Juniper and even Nekou. “Take a look at yourself, you’re just as disgusting. You call yourself someone who seeks the truth, but right now you deny it! I will gain more power so I may destroy the lies consuming this world! Right now, you could not possibly understand the years of agony that Rich Mistbloom subjected me to!”

 

 The cloaked young man’s breakdown afforded Olivia with one precious advantage, however – it gave her time to think about how the battle had progressed so far, which led her to realize that she still had one way out.

 

While Matt, Bunny and Nekou stared at Drowzee’s trainer, Olivia shouted, “Quickly, Minccino, use Swift! Aim for Drowzee’s legs!”

 

Olivia’s voice gave Minccino a burst of strength, and she jumped to action, raining glowing stars down into Drowzee’s legs. Her opponent was too preoccupied at first to prepare a defense, so when he realized that Drowzee had been undercut and dropped to his hands and knees, he started to panic.

 

“Drowzee, get up! Get up now! Don’t fail me now!! Use Psycho Cut!”

 

“You’re finished! Consider this one from my dad… Tail Slap!”

 

Drowzee was struggling to stand, and when Minccino saw this, she felt a rush of energy overcome her and darted right at her stunned Psychic-type foe. His face was like a target to her, and she took great joy in delivering each of the five consecutive strikes she landed right in the center of Drowzee’s forehead. The last hit was forceful enough to throw Drowzee up into the air and down onto his back, with his point of fainting coming halfway between the two.

 

“Drowzee is unable to continue!” Nekou sprang from her seat to embrace Olivia with her good arm, and their combined cheering drowned out the rest of Juniper declaring Olivia the winner.

 

Remembering that she still had a tired Pokémon out on the field, Olivia pulled away from Nekou’s embrace just as Matt and Bunny reached them. “Minccino!” she called out, noticing that her beloved Pokémon was barely able to stand any longer. “Minccino, hold on!”

 

Olivia was too far away from Minccino to catch her before she fell, but luckily, Juniper was right there to do it instead. The tiny Pokémon trembled violently in the professor’s hand, and she looked up at Olivia and said, “Minccino and Roselia need to be healed.”

 

“Are they going to be okay?!”

 

“Don’t get so worked up, Olivia, this is nothing too serious. Professor Elm’s lab actually has a professional-grade Pokémon healing machine, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind us borrowing it. If you’d lend me Roselia and Minccino’s Poké Balls, I can restore them pretty quickly.”

 

“That sounds pretty good to me,” Olivia responded, handing over the two Poké Balls. “Would you, please?”

 

“Of course.” Juniper smiled warmly at Olivia before turning to her two Pokémon and pointing the Poké Balls at them. “Roselia, Minccino, come with me and I’ll fix you up.”

 

A red laser shot out of the button on each Poké Ball, engulfing Olivia’s two Pokémon and pulling them back into the safe confines of the spheres. Juniper then nodded approvingly to Olivia before walking back toward the direction of Professor Elm’s nearby lab.

 

“Well you’re just something else, aren’t you?” Bunny beamed, clapping a hand down on Olivia’s shoulder. “I knew you were pretty courageous, but that last move that turned the flow of the battle… that took guts to do.”

 

“Yeah, it did… but after all, when you put me and Minccino together, we won’t be stopped!”

 

Matt laughed, simultaneously out of amusement at Olivia’s ever-cheerful nature and relief that she hadn’t yet brought up Rich again. “That was an intense match, even for your first battle. Pulling it out under pressure deserves respect.”

 

“And of course I’m proud of you!” Nekou cut in. “Tell you what, how about I buy us all some pizza when we get to Cherrygrove City?” Before giving Olivia a chance to answer, Nekou leaned in close with her eyes half closed and, in a voice just loud enough to deliberately let the others hear, said, “That means Matt is buying us all pizza when we get to Cherrygrove City.”

 

Her face brightening in a mischievous way, Olivia immediately declared, “Hell yeah! Of course I’m up for that!”

 

The laughs being shared by the group save for Matt did not last long, however. The cloaked trainer called his Drowzee back to his Poké Ball and stomped on the ground, causing the quartet to turn their heads toward him.

 

“You are a worthy adversary, Olivia Mistbloom,” he growled, breathing noticeably more deeply than usual. “You are definitely your father’s daughter, I will concede that much. But, this is not over. I will grow stronger… I will grow stronger and use that power to show this entire world the truth behind that false messiah they believe in. You four are more than welcome to try and stop me if you wish… but you will fail, because the truth will always win out over everything else. Let me leave you with one piece of advice – remember my name this time. I am Renzo, Renzo Milos, and I will avenge what Rich Mistbloom did to us.”

 

Having completed his speech, Renzo turned and briskly walked off toward the exit gate of the town; a spiked ponytail of sky-blue hair outlined in black slipped from under his scarf as he walked. Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny were all left confused by his strange behavior and sudden departure, trying to make sense of it all as they waited for Juniper to return.

 

“Okay, someone tell me they’re actually going to care to remember the little fucker’s name,” Nekou groaned while slouching forward. “I stopped caring.”

 

“Renzo Milos, was it?” Bunny repeated to herself. “Besides the fact that his name sounds like some sort of ancient statue, there’s nothing that would make him stand out in it. It doesn’t help tell me why he’d hate Rich so much.”

 

Paying little attention to either Renzo or her three adult companions, Olivia turned to Oshawott and declared, “Did you see that? That’s how we’re going to do things. We’re going to work hard and find my dad. Now is your chance to leave if you want, because we won’t be turning back.”

 

Much to Olivia’s surprise, Oshawott did not back down from the seriousness of the situation even as she presented it to him. He simply said his name and jumped up enthusiastically, showing that he was more than accepting of Olivia’s terms.

 

“I see you’ve gotten a little closer to Oshawott.” Juniper had suddenly reappeared, carrying the Poké Balls containing Roselia and Minccino on a small tray. “That’s a good sign.”

 

“I’m not getting any closer to it,” Olivia objected while collecting her two Poké Balls. “I’m just getting along with it better.”

 

Juniper laughed. “I’m sure that you’ll learn to like each other soon enough. For now, why not just head for Cherrygrove City and see how things go?”

 

“I think that’s a good idea, too,” Matt commented.

 

“Then that’s what we’ll do! To Cherrygrove City!”

 

With Oshawott nipping at her heels, Olivia marched off toward the town gate in a haughty manner, prompting Matt, Bunny and Nekou to follow her; Marie, the runt Sneasel, jumped onto Nekou’s back for transportation. They all waved goodbye to Professor Juniper as they left, their minds shifting from the reflective moods of a beginning to the eager anticipation of things to come.

 

-:-

 

In the meeting chamber of the Sacred Helix, seven of the ten seats were occupied, with the ones ranked one, five and ten empty. The assembled seven were speaking amongst themselves when the sound of a door opening pierced the air in the room, prompting them to fall silent.

 

A tall, lithe man in a white suit emerged from the shadows behind the number one seat, his gray hair making him stand out even more in the darkness of the chamber. Unlike the others, he was not wearing any kind of mask whatsoever, and as he sat down in the chair, the other seven began to complain.

 

“What is this? We get called here and Father doesn’t bother to show up?” Jeunes’s objection gave voice to the dismay of many of his colleagues, and they fell into line behind him. “This was supposed to be an important meeting!”

 

“There is nothing to be upset about,” the white-suited man causally dismissed. “Father has appointed me as his envoy to the Sacred Helix, so we shall now get on with the business of the day. Chromosomes, as you know, for the past five years, we have not had a leader of the tenth section.”

 

“Not since the averted Day of Reckoning in Oceannia that Rich Mistbloom stopped,” Ghetsis commented into his folded hands.

 

“Correct. Well, today, we now present the issue of appointing a new Chromosome to lead the tenth section.” Father’s envoy waved his hand, prompting a spotlight to come on over the area surrounded by the circular table. A four-sided, pyramid-like shape was depicted in gold on the red carpeting; its two longest sides converged directly at Finansielle’s seat, and kneeling at the center of the shape was the man who had robbed the Pewter Museum. “You are on file as the creation of Polaris’s Project J, is this correct?”

 

“Yes, sir,” the man replied, his face largely obscured from view by shadows. His mouth was visible, however, and it was twisted into a sadistic smile.

 

The Darkrai-masked member at the number two seat spoke next. “You have been in training since the day you were given your body, and your first field mission for us was the job of stealing the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs from the Pewter Museum. It has been reported that your execution of this mission was flawless.”

 

“Indeed, what you did the other day will prove to be a major help to us,” said the diminutive male seated at section nine, who was wearing an Electivire-themed mask and helmet complete with antennae. “Not to mention, your use of my section’s electrical bodysuit was superb. Do you understand that this is why we are debating giving you the position of Chromosome?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“You’ve spent years doing everything we’ve asked,” Jeunes offered as input. “Truly, you are one of our most loyal members.”

 

“I believe we’ve said all that needs to be said,” Ghetsis declared. “I would like to motion for a vote on the confirmation of Project J as the tenth Chromosome.”

 

“Wait, Séduire is not here,” the woman seated at section six sighed from behind her mask, an avian-themed one featuring a beak and feathers of red, white and blue. “How will we achieve a fair vote?”

 

“With the tenth seat empty and Séduire absent,” the envoy reasoned, “we need one recusal to make the vote a fair seven. Jeunes, because you were the director of Project J and can be considered this individual’s father, I would like to request that you be that recusal.”

 

“Hmph, fine by me. I don’t concern myself with these political matters when I can predict the outcome. It’s boring.”

 

“Very well. Now, allow the vote to commence.” The man stood and announced, “As the envoy of the first Chromosome, Father, I, Archer, cast a vote of yes!”

 

The Darkrai-masked leader rose next. “As the second Chromosome, I, Praeses, cast a vote of yes!”

 

As Ghetsis hobbled to his feet, Project J smiled to himself again, out of the view of the council assessing him and voting on his fate.

 

“As the third Chromosome, I, Ghetsis, cast a vote of yes!”

 

“As the fourth Chromosome, I, Finansielle, cast a vote of yes!”

 

The majority was already reached, but the vote had to finish for formality’s sake. It would just give Project J more of the attention he loved, though.

 

“I am disturbed by what you are,” the woman with the Braviary mask remarked. “I don’t know if I can trust you. As the sixth Chromosome, I, Mercury, cast a vote of no!”

 

A number of the Chromosomes were surprised by this, but Project J was able to relatively ignore it. He knew he never needed _her_ approval anyway.

 

At section seven was a man wearing a cape and a Dragonite mask who hadn’t spoken yet. He simply stood up and declared, “As the seventh Chromosome, I, Athleta, cast a vote of yes!”

 

Passing over Jeunes, the last vote arrived at the short man with the Electivire helmet. “As the ninth Chromosome, I, Getriebe, cast a vote of yes!”

 

“The final vote is six for yes, one for no,” Archer announced. “Welcome to the Sacred Helix, our new tenth Chromosome.”

 

“My name…” Emerging from the shadows, Project J was already in the process of pulling on his Sigilyph-themed mask and helmet. “…shall be Geminus.”

 

Leaping high into the air, the newly-named Geminus landed in the space just behind and between sections eight and nine. However, he was also unexpectedly met by a young woman that had just entered the chamber, whose shoulder-length red hair combined with her spiked mask to give her the appearance of an Entei.

 

“W-who are you?!” she screeched, recoiling back in shock.

 

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Geminus…” Just after walking past the young woman on his way to his seat, Geminus said just loudly enough for her to hear, “I’ll be looking forward to working with you again.”

 

“Come in, Séduire,” Archer said to the newly-arrived Chromosome. “You already missed the vote to confirm Geminus.”

 

“I was busy!” she yelled as she arrived at her seat.

 

“Stalking that boy you’re infatuated with on the Internet does not count as ‘busy,’ Séduire,” Ghetsis sarcastically admonished her. “It was due to your possessive tendencies over him that our men were sent into Whitegold City too early and exposed our movements before we were fully prepared.”

 

“And you’re any better?” Séduire shot back. “You let all three Angels escape your grasp in Unova! I could have already been united with Matt in the future world if you hadn’t messed that up!”

 

“Father wouldn’t tell us who Azrael was so we could go after her…” Praeses mumbled to himself. “He insisted he would capture her personally…”

 

“Now, Chromosomes, please don’t fight,” Archer said in an attempt to soothe the conflict. “For the first time in five years, our Sacred Helix now has all ten Chromosomes. It is now time for us to move forward into our future world… consider the history of the world. Our planet took shape as a mass of molten rock millions of years ago, and from that beginning, humans and Pokémon inherited the Earth. From then on, humans and Pokémon have progressed forward in two identical but parallel lines, always moving forward but never truly crossing. Today our world is suffering, no, it is dying. For both humanity and Pokémon to survive, those lines must cross to take the sacred shape of the DNA that comprises all living things. Now, Chromosomes, go to your stations and prepare for our first major operation. We have now commenced the beginning of a glorious new chapter for humanity and Pokémon alike. Meeting adjourned.”

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 2**


	3. Opening Moves on Fate's Board

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As her journey gets underway, Olivia faces increasingly bizarre and dangerous obstacles. Team Rocket begins their mission, only for all three groups to converge at the home of an elderly, legendary scientist.

Hopefully, this chapter will be a bit more streamlined and easy to digest. There’s not as much going on in this one, so let’s see how it goes.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 3:** Opening Moves on Fate’s Board

 

-:-

 

The dark clouds that covered the sky over Route 29 into Cherrygrove City and New Bark Town cast ominous shadows over the cliff-laden road, and rumbles of thunder could be heard approaching.

 

Beneath the cover provided by the thick trees just off the main path, Jessie, James, Meowth and Pierce were meeting to finalize their plans. James was holding in his hands a rectangular black tablet computer with ten buttons, a plus-shaped control pad and two thumb pads surrounding its screen; on its back and just below the bottom-left corner of its screen was the stylized script ‘R’ logo of Team Rocket. Meanwhile, in Jessie’s hand was a heavy briefcase.

 

“As you were made aware of,” Pierce instructed, “the energy signature associated with Meteonite was detected just south of our current position. Your mission is to find the source of that signal and recover the Meteonite piece. At that point, contact me for extraction.”

 

“So we’re doing all the work and you’re just going to sit around and wait to get us out,” Jessie complained, sighing. “Good to know.”

 

“You might think you need me, but the boss thinks otherwise. Besides, I have my own job to do.”

 

“What? Where would you be going?” Meowth wondered.

 

“There have been reports of unusual activity in Cherrygrove City that I’ve been ordered to investigate, so if there are no further questions about your mission, I will be going.”

 

Pierce turned sharply, causing the tails of his trench coat to flap up behind him. As he walked off, fallen twigs and leaves cracked beneath his heavy boots.

 

“Jessie, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” James whimpered. “We’re not cut out for this. Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Galactic, Hunter J… Polaris is bigger and stronger than they all were.”

 

“Oh, be quiet!” his hot-tempered female companion snapped back. “The boss wouldn’t have selected us for this mission if he didn’t trust us to get it done.”

 

“And in addition, the good old fluffy-headed doctor said we were picked because we did a good job taking out those liberation knight guys in Unova. That means we’ve got some skills, you two, even if we don’t know them all yet! Now…” Snatching the computer out of James’s hands, Meowth touched the screen with his paw. “We have to find out where that chunk of space rock is.”

 

After displaying the stylized script ‘R’ logo, the screen displayed a menu of several options. Meowth touched one of them, activating a radar system with the map of Route 29 loaded into it. As the system scanned the route, it returned a faint signal coming from very near the entrance of Cherrygrove City.

 

“There we go, it looks like it’s in the west of Route 29,” James observed. “Let’s get moving.”

 

-:-

 

The humble yet busy streets of New Bark Town gradually disappeared behind Matt, Olivia, Nekou and Bunny as they headed west into Route 29, giving way to a curving, cliff-laden road framed by long blades of fragrant grass. Off in the distance on all sides, tall trees provided boundary lines appropriate to the concept of a road through the woods.

 

“I’m not liking the looks of this weather,” Matt said, his eyes locked on the rumbling sky overhead. “Do you guys think we should have stayed in New Bark Town until this storm passes? Sure looks like one’s coming.”

 

“What’s the matter, afraid of a little thunder?” Nekou was so preoccupied with taking another bite off the croissant in her hand that she didn’t notice Matt shrink back slightly from her remark. “There’s nothing for us to be afraid of if there’s a storm. That’s why we were given trees.”

 

“Olivia, don’t you think we should try to get some training in?” suggested Bunny. “Violet City will come up faster than you expect. I think it would be a good idea to start getting Minccino, Roselia and Oshawott up to speed now.”

 

Olivia was walking slightly ahead of the others, but she stopped and turned after listening to Bunny’s proposal. “That sounds pretty good, actually. Can one of you help me out?”

 

“You two stand aside,” Nekou bossed Matt and Bunny, stepping past them with her mobile arm out. “I’ll be glad to help you train, Olivia. I’ve got just the Pokémon you need to see right now. Zorua, prepare yourself!”

 

Having reached into her blouse and produced a Poké Ball, Nekou opened it to free her Zorua. The black-and-red fox Pokémon shook herself off after entering the fresh air, then looked up at Olivia and barked.

 

“You’re going to use Zorua?” Bunny questioned.

 

“Yeah, so? She’s ready for something resembling a real battle, and besides, getting her some training too means this is a win-win for both me and Olivia.” Facing forward again, Nekou said to Olivia, “Use Oshawott. He’s the one who needs the training, if he’s to catch up to Minccino and Roselia.”

 

“Do I have to?” Olivia sighed. “Fine, I guess we’ll see how it goes. Oshawott, let’s play!”

 

Almost immediately upon materializing, Oshawott proudly held up his shell, only flinching slightly when he realized that Zorua was staring at him. He realized that this would be his first chance to prove himself to his trainer, so he intended to make the best of it.

 

“Okay, Olivia, we can’t even have a practice battle if you don’t know what moves Oshawott has. I think the Pokédex should be able to tell you about that.”

 

“Really?” Fumbling out her Pokédex, Olivia activated it and scanned Oshawott.

 

_“Oshawott, the sea otter Pokémon. Type is Water. It fights using the scalchop on its stomach. In response to an attack, it retaliates immediately by slashing. The scalchop on its stomach is made from the same element as claws. It detaches the scalchop for use as a blade.”_

 

“Wait, that’s not what I wanted…” Visibly flustered, Olivia clicked through several more screens until she finally arrived at what she wanted. “So Oshawott’s beginning moves are Water Gun and Tackle. Okay…”

 

“You’ll do fine, Olivia, just don’t lose your nerve!” Matt called out from the sidelines, where he was standing alongside Bunny and watching the training.

 

“Don’t break my concentration!” both Olivia and Nekou snapped at exactly the same time, prompting all four to laugh.

 

“Now, Olivia, I’ll let you attack first,” Nekou instructed. “Just try to get Oshawott to land a hit first.”

 

“ Okay then… Oshawott, use Water Gun on Zorua!”

 

“Zorua, get ready! Brace yourself!”

 

After taking a deep breath, Oshawott expelled a steady stream of water from his mouth. Zorua made no significant effort to evade the wave, instead choosing to simply plant her feet firmly into the ground.   
  
The attack’s impact range was split between Zorua’s legs and the ground, and the force from below her feet threw Zorua into the air.

 

Nekou was ready with an improvised tactic, though. “It’s fine, Zorua. Go for Dig!”

 

Shaking off the small amount of injury she’d received – which amounted to little more than being shaken up at most – Zorua barked and flipped over in the air, drilling downward until she disappeared beneath the ground.

 

“Now, Olivia, don’t panic just yet,” Nekou gently advised, noting that both her opponent and the girl’s Oshawott seemed surprised by Zorua’s move. “I know you’re good at straight, all-out attacking, but from watching you beat that caped guy before, I know you can be pretty analytic too. Just try to calm down and assess the situation. What would be a good way to get me now?”

 

Olivia stared at the space between herself and Nekou and squinted in an attempt to increase her focus. She took stock of what was present – she was there herself, and directly opposite her was Nekou. Between the two of them stood Oshawott, waiting for a direction on what to do, and a hole where Zorua had punctured the earth to get underground. These factors were the tools she had to work with, Olivia realized.

 

Herself, Nekou, Oshawott, the hole leading to Zorua’s tunnel; Olivia ran through all of the available factors again in her mind, and something suddenly hit her. “Oshawott, fire Water Gun into the hole!”

 

Seeing Oshawott excitedly jumping toward Zorua’s burrow on Olivia’s command made Nekou smile. It meant that the lesson she was trying to teach the younger girl was getting through, a meaning that wasn’t lost on Matt and Bunny, who were both enthralled themselves.

 

With the force of Oshawott’s Water Gun pushing her, Zorua burst up out of the ground. She was just a little too far away from Oshawott to attack him directly, so Nekou was forced to come up with an alternate tactic.

 

“Zorua, use Snarl!”

 

“Zorooooo!” Zorua cried, her shrill voice causing Oshawott to hold his ears and shudder in pain. He felt his muscles weakening as well, a side effect of the attack Zorua was leveling against him.

 

Understanding that she couldn’t let this go on, Olivia raised her hand and called out, “Stop Zorua using Tackle, Oshawott!”

 

“Show Oshawott your Foul Play!”

 

Oshawott and Zorua ran at each other, both beginning to become tired from their exchanging blows. Zorua was glowing with a black light, so when the two Pokémon collided with each other, a shower of luminescent black sparks showered out. A few seconds later, Oshawott and Zorua were pushed apart by their own strength.

 

“That’s enough,” Nekou declared, seeing the two Pokémon breathing heavily. “We don’t want to overextend our Pokémon, otherwise we’ll do more harm than good.”

 

“How was I?” Olivia asked, somewhat demandingly. “Did I do well?”

 

“I’d say you did,” complimented her training partner. “You more than satisfied my expectations. Of course, a lot of credit has to go to Oshawott too.”

 

“I guess. I can’t say he did badly…”

 

“Oshawott…” uttered the Water-type Pokémon, relieved that Olivia was pleased with his performance even somewhat.

 

“That was some good work, Olivia,” Matt complimented as he and Bunny made their way over to the others.

 

“I think you’re already starting to bond with Oshawott, you know,” Bunny added, smiling. “Maybe you two really were made for each other.”

 

“Don’t get the wrong idea!” fumed Olivia, her face turning red. Matt couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath, but she failed to notice his subtle action and quickly calmed down. “So, now what?”

 

“Let’s keep going,” he proposed. “Maybe we can get right to Cherrygrove City, before a storm blows in if we’re lucky.”

 

Nekou, Olivia and Bunny all nodded in agreement with Matt’s suggestion, so with Oshawott and Zorua walking alongside them, they resumed their westward trek down the cliff-laden road.

 

Little did they realize they were being watched. At least a dozen pairs of yellow eyes glistened in the darkness within the foliage just off the main road, carefully observing the movements of the new invaders in their territory. Behind them, a single pair of larger, triangular white eyes watched as well.

 

-:-

 

Jessie, James and Meowth had moved south, just as Pierce had directed them, and now had a makeshift encampment set up in the woods just off of Route 29.

 

While Jessie was busy spying on the small house they could see from their hideout, James was using his black tablet computer to survey data being collected from both Jessie’s high-tech binoculars and the satellite dish held by her Wobbuffet. Meowth, meanwhile, had headphones specially designed for his head by Dr. Zager on.

 

“There’s no mistaking it, the Meteonite shard is inside that house,” observed James as he used his finger to slide through the data on his screen. “It’s where the readings are strongest.”

 

“What else is there to do, then?” Jessie asked rhetorically. “Break in, collect the rock, get out of there, and profit when the boss rewards us!”

 

“That’s right!” both James and Meowth exclaimed.

 

Wobbuffet shared their enthusiasm, but he cried out his name far too loudly, prompting Jessie to abruptly shush him. The quartet then turned back to the house, and Meowth’s expression darkened slightly.

 

“We gotta watch out for that old man who’s living there, though,” the cat Pokémon explained. “He looks like he’s got a lot of treasure on him, but that Pokémon with him ain’t something we want to cross. He might come back at any time.”

 

“Let’s just hold back for now,” Jessie suggested. “An opening might appear so we can swoop in and grab it.”

 

-:-

 

“So what do we do now?” Olivia wondered, directing her complaints at anyone who would listen. “Surely traveling is more exciting than this.”

 

“Well, Olivia, most trainers who start out tend to try catching a Pokémon right away,” Matt explained, before gently and carefully adding, “but you’ve got three already. I don’t think it’s a great idea to get more before you can at least get used to Oshawott.”

 

“Aw, seriously? I could find one I want to capture at any time, you know!”

 

Amused by Olivia’s reckless enthusiasm, Nekou smiled, a soft laugh escaping her lips. When Matt saw her expression, he instinctively prepared himself for her to provoke Olivia further, in turn leading to an even bigger disagreement. He was accordingly surprised, then, when that was not what Nekou did.

 

“You know, Olivia, for once he has a point,” she advised. “You have plenty of time before your first Gym battle, so there’s no need to rush to catch more Pokémon.”

 

“Oh, fine,” Olivia responded, pouting.

 

Nekou’s relatively cheery mood abruptly disappeared, giving her three companions pause. She stopped speaking and began wearily looking around, sniffing at the air while doing so.

 

“Nekou, what’s wrong?” Matt asked.

 

“Something’s not right, I can sense it,” she replied, continuing to crinkle her nose in an attempt to identify the scent. “We’re being watched.”

 

In a single sudden, incredibly fast motion, Nekou pulled a switchblade from the inside of her blouse with her right hand; she used it to cut the sling restraining her left arm, leaving it to fall away as her arm was freed.

 

Dumbfounded by what she was seeing, especially when Nekou moved her left arm freely without pain, Bunny stammered, “You were still injured just yesterday! How are you moving like that already?!”

 

“How I’m moving is not important right now. Get ready,” Nekou warned, brandishing her switchblade in a battle-ready stance. As if a switch had been thrown, Nekou’s personality was now completely serious. “Something’s watching us…”

 

Almost on cue, a nearby bush started rustling, causing Matt, Olivia and Bunny to jump nervously. Nekou, meanwhile, simply tensed up in preparation for combat, expecting a threat to come jumping out of the brush at any moment. Her instincts weren’t without merit, either, as mere seconds later something did indeed emerge.

 

However, what appeared was not the fearsome monster they were expecting; in fact, it was vastly different. The small, tan-bodied canine Pokémon looked up at them with wide eyes, twitching the large ears that rose up from behind the shock of light-colored fur covering his face.

 

“That Pokémon is adorable!” Olivia exclaimed excitedly, clasping her hands together and speaking loudly.

 

“It’s Lillipup, a Pokémon from Unova,” Nekou informed the others. “Olivia, you should scan it.”

 

On Nekou’s encouragement, Olivia took out her Pokédex and scanned Lillipup as he stared apprehensively at them.

 

_“Lillipup, the puppy Pokémon. Type is Normal. It is a brave Pokémon, but it also has the intelligence to judge an enemy’s strength and avoid battles.”_

 

“I don’t want to underestimate it, but…” Bunny shifted uncomfortably before finishing, “…this was what we were supposed to be afraid of?”

 

Lillipup barked weakly and began slowly moving toward the group, making his injured right hind leg become apparent.

 

“It’s hurt!” Matt exclaimed, putting words to what all of them were feeling. While he was the one to verbalize their thoughts, though, it was Olivia putting those emotions to action, rushing over to the injured Pokémon.

 

“It’s okay, Lillipup, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” As she tried to speak soothingly to Lillipup, Olivia could feel a light coating of blood stuck onto the blue fur on his back. “I think something might have attacked it,” she nervously said to her friends, looking for guidance on what to do.

 

She would not receive it, as Nekou suddenly snapped her head back up toward the underbrush and called out, “Zorua, use Incinerate now!”

 

Having remained next to her trainer the entire time, Zorua was in perfect position to release a thin jet of fire aimed at the as-yet-unknown threat, hitting it with enough force to cause a small explosion.

 

“Pawnia!” a high-pitched voice shrilled upon impact.

 

From the cloud of smoke a Pokémon fell. She had a humanoid body colored primarily red and gray, with two hooks protruding from her torso. Her arms each ended in a sharp knife blade, and another blade stuck out from her helmet between her two yellow eyes.

 

The blast generated by the collision of Zorua’s Incinerate and the Pokémon was so close to Olivia that she was knocked over by its force. Screaming, she picked up the injured Lillipup in her arms and fled behind Nekou and Matt.

 

“What’s that thing?!” she screeched in fear.

 

Before anyone could answer, a second Pokémon identical to the first jumped from a nearby tree and attempted to cut Nekou with his knife arms, but she dispelled the assault by swinging her switchblade to knock him away. She then identified him by speaking the Pokémon’s name while Olivia fumbled for her Pokédex.

 

“Pawniard. Another Unova Pokémon…”

 

_“Pawniard, the Sharp Blade Pokémon. Type is Dark/Steel. Even if it gets injured, it doesn’t care. It attacks its prey in a group, using the blades all over its body.”_

 

“A group?!” Olivia nervously breathed. “Does that mean there are even more of them?”

 

She received an answer to her question almost immediately. Repeating their species name like a chant, more Pawniard emerged from the bushes until their ranks numbered a total of twelve. They were then joined by a thirteenth Pokémon, one that resembled a taller, more mature Pawniard whose body had grown to have sharp blades for ankles and feet, arms with retractable blades in them, and a golden axe blade bisecting her head from between her white, triangular eyes.

 

“Shit, a Bisharp!” Nekou spat, her worst fears realized.

 

As it had never left her hands, Olivia was able to quickly scan the Bisharp with her Pokédex.

 

_“Bisharp, the Sword Blade Pokémon. Type is Dark/Steel. Evolved form of Pawniard. A scary Pokémon that will take the injured, immobile prey that battled a group of Pawniard and portion it out.”_

 

“I don’t like that thing,” Olivia whimpered while shivering nervously.

 

“You’re not wrong to feel that way,” Nekou said to support the younger girl. “I’ve seen what these Pokémon can do. Marie, prepare yourself for battle! Join Zorua!”

 

“Balin, come out! I need your help!”

 

Marie jumped down from Nekou’s back to stand alongside Zorua, and joining the two of them was Bunny’s Ninetales, Balin, who appeared in a flash of light from his Poké Ball. Almost immediately upon materializing, he growled at the pack of Pawniard and their Bisharp leader, correctly picking up on the threat they posed.

 

The Bisharp cried out, thrusting her right arm forward. Accordingly following her orders, three Pawniard lunged forward at Bunny, Olivia and Nekou, all baring the knives on their arms.

 

“Zorua, get out of the way so Marie can use Low Sweep!”

 

“Balin, Flame Burst now!”

 

Nekou’s Zorua barely managed to get out of the way of two of the charging Pawniard before they could cut her, opening up space for Marie to come in and trip one by undercutting his legs. The second Pawniard, however, reached Nekou, forcing her to parry its blow with her switchblade and send him barreling off several feet away.

 

Finally, Balin suffered a small gash on his cheek when the Pawniard that attacked him slipped through, but he managed to strike back swiftly by spitting out an explosive fireball.

 

Just as the third Pawniard was driven back, a rumble of thunder passed through Route 29 and a light but steady rain began to fall.

 

“Sharrr!!” the Bisharp roared in anger, refusing to let her prey defeat her. Responding to her rage, seven more of the Pawniard lined up in preparation to attack Bunny, Nekou and Olivia, while the final two teamed up with their leader and set their sights on Matt.

 

“Zorua, Marie, get ready!” Nekou shouted, feeling her muscles tensing as the situation spun out of control.

 

Matt couldn’t focus on the attack that commenced against his companions, however, as the Bisharp rushed him as well. He hastily raised up his arms to protect himself, resulting in a loud crashing sound when Bisharp’s steel blades hit the metal of his prosthetic limbs. While the Dark-and-Steel-type Pokémon stepped back, puzzled that her attack failed to significantly injure him, Matt tried to fight back by grabbing her arms and shoving her away.

 

However, her two bodyguards were more than ready to take up the slack. One of her two Pawniard crossed his arms and charged up purple light to create a Psycho Cut, while the other used his own power to pull up a cluster of small rocks. They both used their attacks together, hitting the ground right in front of Matt; this resulted in him stumbling backward and falling down.

 

Hastily, he took a Poké Ball from his bag. This Poké Ball was a special type – it was colored in varying shades of blue in a wave pattern. Matt threw this Dive Ball with a flick of his wrist and called out to the Pokémon inside.

 

“Patrick, make your mark!”

 

A tall, bulky toad Pokémon materialized from Matt’s Dive Ball. His blue body had a number of black-and-cream-colored bumps on it, matching the colors adorning his front.

 

Flexing his body, which in turn caused the bumps to vibrate slightly, he gurgled, “Seismitoad…”

 

“I know this is sudden for your first battle with me, Patrick, but I need your help! Use Scald!”

 

Patrick moved his lazy red eyes to the two Pawniard and the Bisharp, and after glaring at them for a short while, he spit a stream of boiling water at them. Moving to protect their mistress, the two Pawniard attempted to deflect the Scald with cutting moves, but failed and were thrown back. One of them – the one who had used Psycho Cut – collided with one of the hooks protruding from Bisharp’s torso, visibly cutting his helmet.

 

Enraged even further by her minions’ failure, Bisharp snarled viciously and discharged a stream of electricity from the axe blade in her head; this Thunder Wave failed, however, when Patrick stood in the way to block it from hitting Matt, as his part-Ground type nullified electricity. She then aligned her arms and formed a vortex of dark energy between her claws, loosing a Dark Pulse that managed to hurt Patrick enough to force him to close his eyes and groan.

 

“Don’t take that!” Matt shouted while stumbling back to his feet. “Go for a knockout! Drain Punch!”

 

Patrick clenched the three fingers on his right hand to form a fist, which then took on a shining, crackling glow. He threw his hulking body in Bisharp’s direction, intending to hit her with a punch that would surely knock her out instantly, however, the struggle would not be resolved that easily. Shaking off their own injuries, the two Pawniard once again leapt to their leader’s defense, attempting to hold Patrick back with resistance formed from their respective Psycho Cut and Metal Claw.

 

Their attempt failed to stop Patrick’s Drain Punch, but they did succeed in redirecting it away from Bisharp by taking the hit themselves. Frames of light in the same greenish color as the glow of Drain Punch broke away from the two Pawniard and were absorbed by the Seismitoad, restoring some of his health.

 

From the frustration steadily building inside of him, Matt was forced to grit his teeth. The two Pawniard were most likely down for good, but they had successfully guarded Bisharp for as long as possible, and without taking her down, the other seven Pawniard would be nearly impossible to easily dispel.

 

 _“Oh no!”_ he suddenly thought, the realization that he’d forgotten completely about Olivia, Nekou and Bunny and their own fight crashing violently into his mind.

 

He turned in just enough time to see one of the seven Pawniard leap past Olivia’s Oshawott’s Water Gun and slash her on the cheek, while another one was knocked to the ground by Nekou’s Zorua’s Incinerate. The swarm of Pokémon had broken through the initial line of defense presented by Matt’s allies, and now were splitting them up with their relentless attacking.

 

With the shivering, injured Lillipup still in her arms, Olivia attempted to flee in Matt’s direction. Tears were running down her face, which was contorted into a look of nightmarish torment.

 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen… make it stop…” she was mumbling hysterically to herself. “Make it stop, make it stop!!”

 

Right after she passed by Matt, however, Olivia’s luck ran out. Bisharp – who had renewed her hand-to-hand struggle with Patrick – spotted the girl trying to escape. She first pushed her opponent away by striking him harshly with her hand – an Assurance attack that was made more potent by their previous combat – then directed a Thunder Wave in Olivia’s direction.

 

The electric pulse fired from Bisharp’s helmet did not hit Olivia, but it came close enough to her feet that it made her trip and fall. She rolled over and hastily stood back up, clutching Lillipup all the while, only to find herself being menacingly approached by Bisharp and the remaining Pawniard.

 

Olivia slowly backed up, while the others decided to do what they could to protect her.

 

“Patrick, attack the Pawniard with Scald!”

 

“Marie, herd them together using Low Sweep, then Zorua, you fuck them up with Incinerate!”

 

“Balin, once they’re all together, take all those Pawniard out with Flame Burst!”

 

Marie was the first to act, swiftly running in a circle around the cluster of seven Pawniard to hit them in their legs, thus pushing them closer together. Once they were collected, Patrick washed a blast of hot water over them, which Oshawott complimented by using his Water Gun again. This was closely followed by Zorua exhaling a small stream of flames, and finally Balin choking up a huge fireball that exploded on impact, consuming all the Pawniard and leaving them to faint.

 

“Well, we got the foot soldiers,” Bunny said in relief. “Now for the commander.”

 

Either ignorant of or completely uncaring about the defeat of her followers, Bisharp was still slowly approaching Olivia, who had backed herself onto one of the taller cliffs on Route 29. With rain, tears and blood dripping down her face, she took a slow, deep breath, her head trembling and moving backward bit by bit, causing her to stare down her nose at Bisharp.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, you monster?!” she screamed, all her pent-up fear and frustration coming up at once.

 

Bisharp paused her advance and slowly raised her right arm. The iron blades protruding from that arm lengthened, then took on a bright metallic sheen as light from the air nearby flowed into it.

 

“Stop it!” Quickly recognizing that his plea was useless and that Bisharp would not cease preparing her Metal Claw, Matt turned to Patrick and ordered, “Take Bisharp out with Drain Punch before this gets worse!”

 

The lumbering toad pulled himself back up onto his feet, then pulled back his first and moved in toward his foe.

 

What happened next, however, caught everyone – Matt’s group, Bisharp and Patrick – unprepared.

 

With the power for her Metal Claw fully charged, Bisharp lifted her arm even higher and took one last step toward Olivia. Accordingly, Olivia stepped slightly backward to try and stay away from the terrifying Pokémon – and as soon as she did, her foot came down on a spot halfway over the rain-soaked cliff. Her footing vanished almost instantly, leaving her to helplessly struggle to hold herself up using only her legs as she teetered on the land’s edge.

 

For Matt, time seemed to slow to a halt. Patrick’s Drain Punch was no longer going to make any difference; whether or not Bisharp was knocked out almost did not matter. He started to rush to Olivia with his arm outstretched, and behind him, Nekou and Bunny also were moving forward in a panic, but it was all for naught. After what seemed like an endless ordeal that in actuality was less than thirty seconds, Olivia’s balance completely gave way and she slipped over the cliff, screaming at the top of her lungs as she disappeared from sight.

 

Matt, Nekou and Bunny all froze. For the latter, her thoughts were primarily on Olivia’s safety. Bunny had faith that Olivia would come out of this incident relatively fine; it was obvious that things were bad, but she hoped that it wouldn’t come out as a full-fledged disaster.

 

Nekou handled it significantly more poorly. Even though she had only known Olivia for a little over a week, Nekou was already developing both sisterly and maternal instincts toward the girl, and an aggressive creature causing Olivia direct harm deeply violated those bonds. She flew into a screaming rage, viciously rushing Bisharp with her switchblade; however, she was unable to inflict much damage due to Bisharp fighting back.  


“You fucker!” she cursed the Dark-and-Steel-type Pokémon during her assault. “You’re fucking answering to me for hurting her!”

 

Matt’s paralysis was entirely mental, caused by the deluge of crushing thoughts that hit him instantaneously upon Olivia falling.

 

 _“You failure!”_ the one even slightly clear voice screamed at him through the chaos in his head. _“All you had to do was protect her and make her dream come true, and you couldn’t even manage that! Now you let another one die!!”_

 

Extending his arms straight out in front of him, Matt finally broke his silence by snarling, “Destroy Bisharp with Drain Punch NOW!!” As he issued this order, Matt’s hands were trembling as if slowly gripping something until he spread his arms at the end of the sentence.

 

Bisharp barely had time to turn herself around before she realized Patrick was already within very close range. Now the tables were turned, and she was the one backing up.

 

Being caught off-guard by Patrick’s movements was what did in Bisharp in the end. With nowhere to escape to, she received a devastating blow right to her torso, delivered with such force that she was thrown off the cliff and far into the distance, disappearing into the thick trees beyond the well-traversed road. Sensing their leader’s distress, the horde of Pawniard immediately jumped up from their own injuries and pursued her, vanishing from sight as well.

 

Matt couldn’t care less about the wild Pokémon. Stumbling past Nekou, who was breathing deeply as a result of directly fighting Bisharp, he threw himself onto the ground and looked over the cliff.

 

Nothing beyond a canopy of trees was visible below.

 

“Olivia!” he screamed downward, the color running from his face as his heartbeat became shallow. “OLIVIA!!”

 

“If she’s hurt down there, she’s not going to be able to answer you,” Nekou flatly stated.

 

“Then if she can’t call up to me to let me know she’s okay…” Though Nekou and Bunny could not see his face as he rose back up to his full height and therefore could not see the empty look in his uncovered eye, they could tell by his body language that he was about to call for something irrational. “…I’ll go down there myself!”

 

The instant Matt made to jump over the cliff, however, a powerful grip on his right shoulder stopped him. He gasped, having not expected such an abrupt interruption, then turned around to see Nekou casting an icy pout in his direction.

 

“Don’t be an idiot,” she said, pulling her arm back. “Even with your body, if you jump over that cliff and hit branches on your way down, you’ll only end up hurting yourself. The road crosses that area further down, so we should follow it.”

 

“If that fall would bang me up, though, think of what it would do to Olivia!”

 

Matt shifted his panicked glare to Bunny, making her shift uncomfortably. She thought that both he and Nekou had made good points, but her own thoughts guided her in the direction of caution, so she answered the silent question by saying, “Take the road, but let’s hurry.”

 

Without another word, Matt pulled the brim of his hat down slightly to cover his eyes and started walking in the direction of the cleared path again. Patrick and Oshawott followed him, while Balin, Zorua and Marie all stayed with Bunny and Nekou, who walked with each other.

 

“Do you really think this is the best course of action, though?”  Bunny questioned, a feeling of nervousness overtaking her.

 

“Yeah, I do. Olivia’s tough. A little fall might rough her up a bit, but she will get back up and move forward. I know she can do it.”

 

-:-

 

Unfortunately, Nekou was only half right.

 

At the bottom of the cliff, below the cover of the trees that had obscured Matt’s view from above, Olivia lay on the ground, broken in more ways than one. Lillipup, who had suffered no further injuries thanks to her intervention, worriedly sniffed at her face, but she was so detached from reality that she didn’t even notice.

 

 _“This is all you can do,”_ a voice in her head told her. _“Do you still wonder why he abandoned you?”_

 

“No, I understand now…” she answered, barely aware of the fact she was speaking to a disembodied voice in her head. “Day one and look at me already…”

 

In the fall, the curls of hair she had on the sides of her head had come undone, leaving it to drape down to her back at its full length as it draped her prone body. Olivia shuddered as she hopelessly tried to move, but with her left leg snapped completely around at an unnatural angle, there was no way she could possibly walk. A slow but steady stream of blood was trickling out of her broken leg, mixing with the rain flowing across the rocks.

 

Water was streaming down her face now, but she continued to not be bothered by it. “Dad,” she whispered as her vision began to become clouded, “I messed up. Don’t be mad at me…”

 

A slight, accepting smile appeared on Olivia’s face just as she closed her eyes and blacked out.

 

Mere seconds later, the sound of footsteps indicated the presence of someone else in the area. A golden-bodied, reptilian Pokémon with blade-like tusks protruding from her mouth stomped into the vicinity, followed by her trainer, an elderly man wearing round spectacles and a heavy brown coat.

 

The man did not notice Olivia lying unconscious on the ground at first, but when his Pokémon alerted him to her, he walked over on his cane and leaned down to examine her. Recognizing her injures, he motioned to his Pokémon to help carry her somewhere.

 

-:-

 

It took Matt, Nekou and Bunny well over an hour to work their way down the road to the area where Olivia had fallen. Part of it was due to the fact that the path actually looped back a significant distance to circumvent the cliff, but the weather had worsened significantly as well. By the time they finally reached the area at the bottom of the cliff, the rain had forced Bunny to recall Balin, while Zorua and Marie each rode on one of Nekou’s shoulders. Matt, meanwhile, had sent out a Pokémon whose light, child-like body was contained within a simple form of green jelly that granted her arms and ears. She was floating above her trainer and his allies, using her Magic Guard ability to shield them from the rain.

 

“Reuniclus, do you see Olivia anywhere?” When the Pokémon responded by shaking her head, Matt cupped his hands around his mouth and called out into the distance, “Olivia, where are you? I know you’re okay! You have to be!”

 

“Osha!” Oshawott cried, mimicking Matt’s actions as he walked along.

 

“This should be about where she fell,” Nekou pondered, “so where is she?”

 

“I can’t imagine that she simply got up and walked off,” added Bunny, “not after a fall like that.”  
  
After that, the conversation between the three died out, and they went back to calling out in differing directions in the hope that Olivia would hear them while they walked. All they managed to garner for their efforts was an assortment of Pokémon, though, things like Pidgey, Sentret, Rattata and even the odd Shinx and Exeggcute. It seemed like most of the Pokémon the group passed were in hiding, likely from the Pawniard gang.

 

None of the three were aware of how much time had passed or how far they had walked. They simply were so focused on finding Olivia that they didn’t care to notice. They were beginning to become fearful of what might have happened to her when Bunny spotted something.

 

“Matt, Nekou, look over there!”

 

Following the direction in which Bunny was pointing, Matt and Nekou could see a house a short distance down the road.

 

“The lights are on, so someone must be home,” Nekou mumbled sarcastically. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

 

“Yeah,” Matt answered, “whoever’s in there might have seen Olivia. Let’s hurry! Reuniclus, return!”

 

With a quick movement, Matt pointed a Poké Ball up at Reuniclus, drawing her back inside using the sphere’s red laser. As soon as she disappeared, the rain was able to pour down on the group unchecked, so they ran for the house as fast as they could.

 

As soon as they were at the house, they went up to the front door and Matt rang the doorbell. There was a certain amount of disconnect in the design of the dwelling; for example, while the door was simply a plain, heavy piece of wood, the doorbell’s button was surrounded by an intricately-shaped, gold-plated frame. Another example was reflected in the windows, which had twisted, empty iron flower rows hanging off of actual windows that were quite modern and stately.

 

“I’m coming, just hold your horses there for a minute!” a voice shouted from behind the door. A shuffling sound could be heard, followed by some kind of banging on the door as whoever was there tried to unlock it.

 

Once the door finally opened, the occupant of the house came into view. It was the same elderly gentleman who had picked up Olivia earlier, though he had dispensed with his heavy brown coat. He had a very plain appearance, being simply dressed in a sky-blue dress shirt and black trousers; his main distinguishing characteristics were his glasses, his thick white beard that filled out his otherwise thin face, and his double helix-printed necktie.

 

“More guests?” he sighed. “What a bother, having one unexpected visitor is enough for a single night. What can I help you with?”

 

“We’re looking for a girl, sir,” Matt replied with a hint of desperation. “She got lost on Route 29 earlier and we haven’t been able to track her down.”

 

“Oh, do you mean Olivia? I picked her up after I found her. She’s right inside.”

 

“That’s such a relief… okay, you guys, come o…”

 

“Holy shit!” Matt’s sentence got cut off when Nekou, having suddenly realized something, shoved him out of the way to face the old man directly. “I know who you are! I can’t believe I get to meet you!”

 

“Who is he, then?” Matt growled, picking himself off the wet ground and squeezing the water out of his hat.

 

“He does look kind of familiar…” Bunny commented.

 

“Why, this is only the most famous scientist in the fucking history of science itself!”  Nekou excitedly explained. “Meet Doctor Dante Fantomos, the man whose work made modern science itself possible!”

 

“Wait, _you’re_ Dante Fantomos?” Matt recognized the name once he heard it, and could only stare with wide eyes at Dante once he realized what it meant. “I didn’t even know you were still alive!”

 

“I’m flattered to have fooled you, then,” Dante remarked, playing off Matt’s accidentally insensitive comment with a bit of sarcasm. “Come in out of the rain. I’ll prepare some tea.”

 

Stepping away from the door, Dante ushered his guests inside. After peering outside and looking around in suspicion, he then closed it.

 

Back in the bushes, Jessie, James and Meowth all shared a sigh of relief that they hadn’t been caught. Wobbuffet, meanwhile, simply stood still and stared ahead while holding onto the satellite. All four of them were hiding under a tarp they had put up from their supplies to shield themselves from the rain.

 

“That was too close. I don’t want to fight that old man.”

 

“You’re telling me, Jessie,” an overly dramatic James complained. “What do we do now?”

 

“I’m gonna call Pierce,” Meowth announced, taking the R-Pad computer into his paws again. “We ain’t getting that rock from him if we just go for it.”

 

-:-

 

After ushering his guests into the foyer of his house so they could dry off, Dante guided them through a corridor toward his study.

 

Matt took a moment to think about just how strange a day it had been as he walked behind Dante but in front of Nekou, Bunny and the Pokémon. Everything had started with Professor Elm’s disappearance and the meeting with Professor Juniper, then they had run into Renzo and heard his ranting. After that, they moved into Route 29, were attacked by a group of bloodthirsty wild Pokémon, and finally were separated from Olivia. Yet, he still couldn’t believe that he was now about to sit down for tea with one of the most important scientists in history, a man who he had long believed to have died years earlier.

 

“Olivia!” Dante called out as he reached the doorway of the study. “I’ve got someone here to see you!”

 

The study was a large room, dimly lit using candles and a fireplace. A border of brown wood reached three feet up the walls, and where it cut off, cream-colored wallpaper patterned with curved white lines picked up. Four dark bookcases towered from floor to ceiling against the wall opposite the fireplace, and as the four stepped into the room, their feet pushed down into the plush, pale yellow carpet.

 

A long coffee table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by three red couches. Olivia was sitting on the one facing the fireplace, reading a book with a dejected expression of boredom. Lillipup, his leg and body bandaged, sat next to her.

 

“Olivia!” Matt exclaimed, both pleased and horrified at what he saw. Olivia, changed into hospital scrubs, had her left leg propped up on the couch in a thick cast. He felt at once both happy that she was alive and guilty for letting her get injured.

 

“You’re lucky I found her out there, Matt Chiaki,” Dante said. He started walking to a tea cabinet in the corner of the room, his cane leaving small circles in the carpet with each step. “She might have bled out and died or developed an infection.”

 

“I owe you some thanks, then, Dr. Fantomos… wait, how do you know my name?”

 

Reaching the tea cabinet, Dante simply laughed and waved his hand at Matt. “In due time, my friend. Please, make yourselves at home. Everything will become clear.”

 

“How are you doing, Olivia?” Nekou sincerely asked the girl, flopping down on the couch next to her. Zorua and Marie popped out from beneath Nekou’s hair to see Olivia, and Oshawott jumped up onto his trainer’s lap as well, attempting to soothe her.

 

“Hey, you guys, Zorua, Marie... and Oshawott too…” Olivia’s voice was the voice of a broken human being. Her thoughts were haunting her – if this was how her first day as an official trainer would be, Olivia was unsure if she could face the future and whatever challenges lie ahead. It just all felt like far too much.

 

“Olivia, please...” In an attempt to further prove her sincerity, Bunny put her hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Don’t give up yet. Things will only get better from here. This was just an accident.”

 

“If you say so…” Olivia sniffed.

 

Perhaps unconsciously, Matt was detaching himself from the others, instead opting to examine the pair of framed pictures adorning the mantle of Dante’s fireplace. The photograph on the left was a black-and-white image of a much younger Dante; he had no cane then, his hair was jet-black and slicked back, and his beard was significantly thinner and neater. At the time of the picture he was wearing a white lab coat and extremely thick glasses.

 

“Aye, pretty impressive, eh?” the elderly doctor said over his shoulder while preparing the tea. “That one you’re looking at now, that was the photo of me that ran in all the papers back when I first published my documentation of the structure of DNA, fifty-five years ago. One of the proudest moments of my life, I say.”

 

“I sure can understand that. Six years ago, I had the opportunity to finish the life work of my grandfather, the great archeologist Sutter Chiaki, by finding the lost Golden City of La Ciudad Dorada. I lost a lot pursuing that goal, but in the end, finding it made me feel good because it validated what my grandfather stood for.”

 

Once he finished speaking, Matt shifted his gaze to the second photo, the one on the right. It was monochrome like the first and appeared to be from around the same time period, but Dante was not alone in it. Alongside him was a woman who had her hair done up in a beehive style, and between them, a young girl with long black hair and a summer dress sat on a chair.

 

Matt was intrigued by the picture, and rubbed his chin while looking closely at it for a moment before turning around. “Dr. Fantomos, forgive me if I shouldn’t ask this, but what’s the other picture of?”

 

Dante, who by this time was just putting the completed tea serving on the table before Olivia, Nekou and Bunny, could only sigh. He sat down on the couch at the head of the table, picked up one of the teacups, and said, “That… that is the other proudest moment of my life thus far. In that photograph with me are my late wife, Clara, and our daughter, Amina.”

 

“Where does Amina live now?” inquired Bunny, who had actually begun getting drawn into the conversation herself.

 

“My heart,” Dante sadly replied. “Amina died of an illness when she was just fourteen years of age, despite my best efforts to cure her.”

 

Immediately realizing that he’d made Dante go down the path that led to talking about this, Matt gasped and said, “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have…”

 

“Don’t you worry about it. I’ve taken steps to make sure her memory is preserved.” Indeed, by the way Dante was speaking, Matt could tell he was not terribly disturbed by discussing these things. “Now, Matt, why don’t you join us for some tea? Olivia was telling me earlier about some of the rare Pokémon you have seen, such as Heatran and Dialga.”

 

“Well, I can tell you about Heatran, anyway,” Matt spiritlessly spoke while putting himself down on the seat facing Dante’s. “I don’t remember much about meeting Dialga.”

 

Dante’s eyes widened when he heard Matt’s claim, which was something he couldn’t understand. “How do you not remember an occasion as momentous as meeting Dialga?”

 

“I’ll get to that. First, let me tell you about Heatran. She was at the center of what happened in La Ciudad Dorada. The count of the kingdom was planning to seize control by killing his parents and sister and earning the right to the throne by making the people feel gratitude toward him, so he obtained a Magma Stone somewhere and used it to force Heatran to create a drought. He then contacted me and my so-called ex-girlfriend Cassy to go there and complete my grandfather’s work to save the city. We fell for his trap... well, at least I did, because Cassy was actually in on it. We found the lost Golden City, but the count appeared and set Heatran on us while he took control of the Golden City’s power. Thankfully, though, we managed to defeat Heatran and I captured her, and she went a long way to finally stopping him. I still have her with me today, and she is one of my most trusted Pokémon. On the other hand, though, that was also when Eleanor died…”

 

“Eleanor?” Dante questioned, blinking from behind his glasses.

 

Matt sighed. Unlike Dante and the story of Clara and Amina, he didn’t feel so comfortable with recounting the fate of Eleanor. Against his better judgment, however, he closed his visible eye and told the story.

 

“Eleanor Laplace was a young woman I met in La Ciudad Dorada after being invited there by the villainous Count Fernando the Eighth. She was only on a vacation… so she was entirely innocent and never should have gotten caught up in what happened there. Needless to say, she ended up working with me, and during the final battle against Fernando she perished for my own cowardice.” Opening his eye, Matt glared at Dante, who had a rather dramatic backdrop for himself with the rain battering the window behind his chair. “Sure, we found the Golden City. But I was never the same person after I left La Ciudad Dorada. That was where my life started to change.”

 

Just talking about La Ciudad Dorada and the death of Eleanor Laplace brought memories flooding back to Matt. He could still see everything as if it had just happened, including Eleanor getting ahead of him while trying to encourage him to be more positive. Horribly, she walked into a palace tower that collapsed seconds later, right before Matt’s eyes. He watched her last moments and sudden end, an image that was ingrained in his consciousness along with the knowledge that her last thoughts were mainly centered on trying to help him.

 

This time, it was Dante’s turn to sigh. “You may be unable to accept this, but I can truly sympathize with the feeling of losing someone and feeling like you did nothing to help. I already told you about Amina’s terminal illness and my failure to find a cure and save her, but Clara died as the result of religious extremists deciding they didn’t like the idea of what my discovery could mean and bombing our home. They didn’t like the idea of the building blocks of life being known to the minds of mankind.”

 

Nekou, Bunny and Olivia had been drinking their tea and listening to the conversation as it went back and forth between Matt and Dante. All three were engrossed by it, even Nekou, who otherwise would have been talking about how much she was enjoying the tea Dante had prepared. Bunny, on the other hand, decided to say something.

 

“Is that why you’ve kept out of the public eye for so long? And if it is, why resurface now?”

 

“To your first question, yes. I decided to dedicate myself to studying everything I could and perfecting my theories on DNA. Unfortunately, my work attracted a bit of an odd crowd… is it true that, from what I understand, you had a run-in with a cult called Polaris in Whitegold City?”

 

“How do you…” The realization hit Nekou relatively fast, interrupting her original sentence. “Oh, that’s right, it was on the news. You and the rest of the world got to see me kick their asses.”

 

“Polaris is no laughing matter,” Dante warned. “They were attracted to me because of the potential applications of my work. I didn’t see eye-to-eye with them, though. They believe that DNA is the key to unlocking something profound in our world, and they’re really serious about that, so I would strongly advise you to not get involved with them.”

 

“You know,” Matt groaned, “I’ve seen so much fucked up shit in my life already that they sound tame by comparison. I have no reason to concern myself with the dealings of a cult like that. All I’m after is the truth behind the fates of Eleanor and others.”

 

“I see. Well, let me answer your second question, Bunny… actually, wait, I’ll show you what I’ve been working on in a moment. I forgot to find out about what happened with you and Dialga, Matt.”

 

“I told you, I don’t remember much.” Punctuating his response with another sigh, Matt continued, “I don’t remember much because, from what others have reminded me, I used to have a split personality contained within me.”

 

Olivia was the only one of Matt’s audience that did not react in surprise to this news. Nekou, Bunny and Dante all gasped and looked at him in varying degrees of shock, but none of them spoke, allowing Matt to go on.

 

“People who knew what happened when my other personality appeared told me that his name was Janus, and he was violent, cruel and consumed by unchecked ambition. He was born of my attempts to rid myself of the pain caused by my sister and I being abused by our parents, and would appear in moments with enough stress to trigger it. The reason why I am telling you this is because for the majority of the time I was around Dialga, Janus was in control.”

 

“He kidnapped me from my mom and dad and took me aboard Team Galactic’s UFO,” Olivia added. “My dad beat him, but he accidentally spilled this nasty red stuff on me.”

 

“Once I snapped back into reality, I volunteered to stay behind on the exploding aircraft so Rich and Olivia could escape with my sister. That is why I have this body now.” To show what he meant, Matt rolled up his sleeves, then removed his light-blue silk gloves, revealing that his hands were visibly made of metal. He then made a blade emerge from his right wrist, proving that the rest of both arms was also artificial. “That’s not all. My left leg is cybernetic too, and I have some internalized modifications so my body doesn’t rip itself apart. All of this was made necessary by being trapped in the exploding UFO. During the extensive procedures I had to undergo, by my own request I had Janus removed from my subconscious. That’s why I don’t remember Dialga much – a lot of memories of things that happened while he was in control have disappeared for me.”

 

“I’d like to take you apart,” Nekou wryly commented at the exact moment Matt finished speaking. “Your insides sound fascinating.”

 

The mood in the room immediately changed – Dante visibly had to lower his head and fight off a chuckle, while Olivia fell back against Bunny’s shoulder in a laughing fit. Bunny herself, meanwhile, put her hand against her face.

 

Matt could only stare at Nekou in complete exasperation as she stared back with a troublesome smirk on her face. “I was trying to tell Dr. Fantomos a story, you know. Did you have to do that?”

 

“I was bored,” Nekou immediately snarked back without skipping a beat. “And if my brain was bored, his surely was too.”

 

“Now, now, I got the gist of it, don’t worry.” Rising slowly from his seat, Dante looked down at Bunny and Olivia. At his full height he actually was rather tall, so they had to look up at him. “Allow me to show you what I’ve been working on now.”

 

While his guests watched, Dante made his way to the other side of the room, where he picked up a cube-shaped case. He then carefully brought it back and set it on the table before opening it, revealing a small piece of rock covered in burn marks. Matt, Bunny and Nekou all looked at it with great curiosity.

 

“This is a fragment that fell from one of the meteors ahead of Persephone-2213 as it approaches Earth,” Dante explained. “It is made of what is called Meteonite, a recently-discovered element that still has much mystery surrounding it.”

 

“Meteonite,” Nekou repeated, lowering her eyelids until her eyes were half-closed and staring coldly at the rock.

 

“Yes. I was asked by the Angel Corporation to study this Meteonite and try to determine some of its properties, because we have reason to believe that its resonance has some kind of effect on Pokémon. Olivia told me about the pack of wild Pawniard and the Bisharp that attacked you earlier today, and I think that my research on the Meteonite may have triggered their violent rampage, so please accept my apology for that.”

 

“I’m not concerned about that anymore besides how it affects Olivia,” Matt responded. He then turned his view halfway toward the girl. “Olivia, how are you doing? You’re still looking forward to your first badge, right?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it. I want to go to bed.”

 

Matt, Nekou and Bunny were all confused by Olivia’s demand, and looked at her before turning to Dante. Understanding their unspoken question, he said, “I already told Olivia that once her friends caught up to her, you could all stay here for the night. My home is your home, as they say. The spare rooms are just upstairs.”

 

“Come on, Olivia, I’ll go with you.”

 

Olivia nodded her acquiescence to Bunny’s idea, so the older of the two young women rose to her feet and scooped up her younger friend in her arms. Once Dante pointed in the direction of the staircase, they left the room with Oshawott and Lillipup following them.

 

“So…” As he spoke, Dante closed the case containing the Meteonite. “Matt, you are someone who is seeking truth, is that correct?”

 

“Right. What I’m after is the truth behind the deaths of Eleanor and a couple of other people that didn’t have to die. Everything has a deeper truth behind it, and I will discover it. For that reason, I’m looking for the Legendary Pokémon Reshiram, whose flames are said to burn to reveal the truth.”

 

“I see. As men of science, that pursuit of the truth makes us similar.”

 

“Don’t forget me, I’m a woman of science,” Nekou piped up, before slyly adding, “Just because my science is a lot madder doesn’t disqualify me.”

 

Dante chuckled, but did not speak again until he laid out a large map of the Johto Region on the table before Matt and Nekou. “If you’re pursuing the truth of Reshiram, you will be looking for a lost item known as the Light Stone. They say that the Light Stone only appears before an individual who has put in overwhelming effort into finding the truth, so you should go through the longest path through Johto.”

 

Putting his finger on the map at Cherrygrove City, right next to their current location, Dante traced the trail up north, slightly west, and south around a loop. He then elaborated, “Go from Cherrygrove City north to Violet City. From there, move into the loop that will take you south to Union Cave and Azalea Town, then north through Goldenrod City and eventually back to Violet City.”

 

“Thanks, I guess, Dr. Fantomos.”

 

Dante repaid Matt’s gratitude with a dark expression. “Let me warn you of one thing, though, Matt Chiaki. As men of science we both pursue truth, but what you must recognize is that truth is a beast that cannot be tamed. If you decide to pursue it, you must be fully prepared to find that the truth is far more terrible than you ever thought it could be.”

 

Nekou did not have much of a visible reaction to Dante’s warning, but Matt noticeably shrunk back and tensed up. He didn’t need any reminders of how difficult or risky his goal was, and even though Dante meant well, the comments he’d made only served to unnerve Matt even further.

 

-:-

 

Jessie, James and Meowth had quite a bit of space in their makeshift camp underneath the heavy tarp that shielded them from the rain. In fact, there was enough space for James and Meowth to prepare a pot of beef stew on a small hotplate while Jessie spoke to Pierce using the R-Pad.

 

“What are you saying, exactly?” Pierce could be heard questioning from wherever he was. “You can’t get the Meteonite?”

 

“Pierce, it’s currently in the possession of an old man who is keeping Matt Chiaki’s little group at his home tonight,” Jessie explained. “He’s also got this powerful-looking Haxorus that we can’t possibly defeat. Attacking him now would be foolish.”

 

“Hmm... I agree. Listen, continue to monitor the situation for now. I have some business to finish

wrapping up here in Cherrygrove City. Over and out.”

 

With Pierce gone, Jessie turned back to her teammates just in time for them to finish their cooking.

 

“Dinner’s done!” James exclaimed, taking three spoons from their supplies and passing them out.

 

“Let’s dig in!” Meowth added. “Before a big mission, a big meal does the trick!”

 

-:-

 

Much later that night, Matt was alone in the room he’d borrowed from Dante, sitting on the bed and reading by lamp light while wearing his light sleeping clothes. The novel in his hands was clearly aged, with some of its pages gnarled and yellowing at the edges. His silver flask, meanwhile, rested on the night table next to him, periodically being picked up to provide refreshment.

 

The pouring rain and occasional thunder put Matt on edge enough, so when his door creaked open, he jumped in a fit of nerves. However, he realized it was nothing to worry about when a slightly drunk Nekou stumbled in. She was quite a sight, wearing a faded yellow tank top that was one size too small for her and short shorts.

 

“What are you doing in here? Is that always how you dress at night?” Dropping that line of questioning when he saw the bottle in her hand, Matt instead asked, “You’re drinking at this time of night?”

 

“Shut up,” she countered, her voice slightly slurred. “The only thing on all twelve numbers of a clock is time to drink. I can’t sleep.”

 

“What I don’t get is, I’ve seen you put away a dozen cans of beer without effort, but you haven’t even finished one bottle tonight and you’re clearly wasted. What is that?”

 

“It’s not stuff I usually drink. I borrowed some vodka from the old man.”

 

“You stole Dr. Fantomos’s vodka, didn’t you.”

 

“I stole Dr. Fantomos’s vodka, yeah,” Nekou confessed, although she didn’t seem all that remorseful about it. “What are you doing up this late?”

 

“I’ve got a good mind to ask you the same thing, why you’re up so late getting drunk.”

 

“Have as much a mind as you want, but just don’t say it, because it’s wrong to ask a lady why she drinks.” Stepping closer to the bed, Nekou leaned over and scrunched up her face as she stared at the book Matt was reading. She could make out the drawing on the book’s cover, which depicted an old man in sailor garb standing in a small boat and brandishing a harpoon directed at a giant, white Wailord. “Interesting choice of a bedtime story. I hadn’t thought of you as the type.”

 

“Consider what it’s about, though. A man obsessed with getting vengeance against something that wronged him, requiring him to pursue a great white beast… especially since I learned about Reshiram’s existence, I feel like I can identify with that. Of course, that’s just the most superficial layer, but still.”

 

As she listened to Matt’s almost indifferent explanation of his interest in the book, Nekou’s inebriated cheer vanished and was replaced with a cold disgust that grew with each word he spoke. Once he was done, she immediately responded, “You’re looking at that story completely wrong if it’s the captain who you identify with. I thought you were going to say that you identified with Ishmael, who quite frankly suits you more, but the captain? Did you even read to the end? I don’t care if this is a spoiler to you or not, but the captain’s obsession with his revenge gets all but one person on his ship killed! If you see yourself in him, what does that say about how you see us?”

 

“Well, obviously I don’t want you or the others to die,” Matt was now speaking in an empty, almost haunting voice, “but quite honestly, it would not bother me at all to fall in such a way for myself. Captain Ahab dies having successfully speared the whale that antagonized him for so long, and even if he did not kill the creature, he succeeded in accomplishing as much as he was capable of. I have two simple goals – I want to see Olivia up on her feet with a shot in the world, and I want to know the truth behind who provoked the events of the past six years. Once I accomplish those things, I simply have no concern for what awaits me next.”

 

There was a beat of silence, but suddenly, Nekou delivered a backhanded slap across Matt’s face, tears of anger welling up in her eyes. He just looked blankly at her and held his face as his book fell onto the bed.

 

“Do you even care about how your attitude could affect others? You say you want Olivia up on her feet, but how do you think it would make her feel to lose someone else she cares about and relies upon? How do you think Bunny would take losing someone she clearly considers a friend? And me… I have no home to go back to. If you go away, I don’t know what would happen to me.”

 

“I don’t know if you can possibly understand all the things I’ve seen. Nobody deserves to have a harsh life like mine. I just feel tired… you can only rely on yourself for so long.”

 

“You don’t know the half of what I’ve seen, but anyway, nobody ever said that you had to rely only on yourself.” Nekou suddenly climbed onto the bed and crawled on all fours toward Matt, sticking her face just inches away from his. He did not react at all. “Listen. I became your bodyguard, right? You know that you can rely on me when you need it.”

 

“Thanks, I guess… I don’t really know what I’m going to do right now.”

 

-:-

 

The next morning, Matt, Bunny and Olivia gathered together with Dante in the foyer of his house. Dante, once again having donned his brown coat, had the case with the Meteonite shard sitting next to him.

 

“You lot are heading to Cherrygrove City, correct?” he asked.

 

“Right. The Battle Arcade is there,” Matt explained, “and that is where I am going to begin my search for the truth.”

 

“Please allow me to accompany you for a time, then,” requested the doctor. “I need to deliver the Meteonite to an acquaintance of mine, the scientist who’s called Mr. Pokémon, who lives on Route 30.”

 

“Feel free to come along with us, Dr. Fantomos,” Bunny agreed, making sure to glance to Matt and Olivia for confirmation first.

 

“Where’s Nekou? We can’t leave without her.”

 

There was truth to what Olivia said – Nekou was nowhere to be seen. Matt coughed, then said, “She must have gotten so drunk last night she passed out. Let me go get her.”

 

Matt turned away from the others and headed back up the staircase, then quickly walked toward the one spare room that still had its door pitched slightly open. When he entered, he found Nekou out cold, sprawled across her bed with the vodka bottle lying empty on the floor and a trail of drool dripping from her mouth, which was contorted into an expression of bizarre pleasure.

 

“Hey, wake up.” When he got no response, Matt repeated himself but spoke a little louder; however, this failed too. He started to reach down to shake her, but he then spotted her earbud-style headphones in her ears and the cord to her music player. “Figures,” he mumbled to himself, realizing she couldn’t hear him. Instead of shaking her, he decided to simply remove the headphones from her ears.

 

That was where he went totally wrong, for as soon as he lifted one of the earbuds out, the music started blasting through the whole house.

 

_“It’s a cruel, cruel summer, leaving me here on my own… It’s a cruel, cruel summer, now you’re gone…”_

 

“What the fuck are you doing…?” Drowsily smacking her hand against her side, Nekou finally found the music player and shut it off.

 

“Waking you up, obviously. You were sleeping with it that loud?”

 

“None of your business.”

 

“Well, go get dressed. We’re going to Cherrygrove City and Dr. Fantomos is coming with us.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 3**


	4. Reaching for the Arcade Star (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the overdeveloped, densely populated Cherrygrove City, Matt prepares for his first Frontier Society challenge at the Battle Arcade by researching its Brain, Dahlia, and training. Polaris representative Ghetsis Harmonia makes a televised speech that resonates with the people, who are unaware of his terrifying true nature, and Pierce of Team Rocket forges an alliance with the enigmatic Prophet of the Tenganist people.

For the sake of caution, this chapter contains mentions of several crimes including murder and kidnapping, and a scene involving abduction victims that may be slightly disturbing to some.

 

-:-

**CHAPTER 4:** Reaching for the Arcade Star (Part 1)

 

-:-

 

Cherrygrove City was a busy city on a coastline, larger than New Bark Town but still smaller than many of the other metropolis-size cities on the continent. Few of its buildings reached comparable heights to the skyscrapers those cities had, but Cherrygrove’s buildings – both residential apartment complexes and commercial centers – were enough to pack plenty into the small area of land the city actually occupied.

 

The previous night, while Matt, Olivia, Nekou and Bunny were staying at the home of Dr. Dante Fantomos, rain was buffeting Cherrygrove City much like Route 29. As a result, few were outside, and Pierce was completely fine with that fact. His mission entailed meeting a contact covertly, so as he stepped into an alley between two buildings, he appreciated the additional cover the rain provided him on top of the darkness of night.

 

Pierce walked a short distance down the alley before stopping, and after a moment’s hesitation, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers four times.

 

“So… you’ve come,” a woman who was hiding in the alley’s darkness said, emerging nearly immediately upon Pierce’s giving the signal. She was wearing a heavy coat that appeared to have significantly discolored over time along with a tattered blue cloak obscuring the upper half of her face in a shadow. Though he did not voice it, what troubled Pierce about this seemingly homeless woman was that she carried a small child wrapped in a blanket in her arms. “Why has your organization sought us out?”

 

Significantly unsettled by this woman for a reason he could not fully identify, Pierce struggled to maintain his rigid composure. “Polaris has made its move, which has left Team Rocket with no choice but to take all available action to counter them. We are aware that you Tenganists who are left are planning to oppose them as well, so I have come to offer you a negotiation. Team Rocket can offer your group supplies to battle Polaris in exchange for your assistance in destroying them.”

 

“And why should I trust you?” the woman scoffed, though with a strange hint of fear in her voice.

 

“If you’re not convinced of my sincerity,” Pierce flatly stated, extending his right hand, “then take my hand. Everything will become clear.”

 

The woman haltingly placed her own right hand in Pierce’s, and the two of them abruptly froze. This lasted for several seconds before she pulled away, gasping for air.

 

“I could feel it in your mind… you’re one of us, too… one of my people… but why? Why turn to Team Rocket?”

 

“The circumstances of our lives are not easily controlled. My Tenganist heritage is not something I was raised in, as you were. Now, about the offer we can provide you…”

 

“I cannot make that decision right now. I am merely a symbol for the horrors inflicted upon our people by Ghetsis Harmonia, a symbol to motivate what remains of our dying culture to survive by any means necessary. Our enemy is Ghetsis, not Polaris.”

 

“You must not be aware that Ghetsis Harmonia is, in fact, a high-ranking member of Polaris.”

 

That apparently was the case, for as soon as Pierce stated that fact, the woman stepped back and gasped. Her voice became shaky and uncertain. “If Ghetsis is a member of Polaris, than this could be my chance to… I could finally…” Looking up at Pierce, the woman said, “I can’t decide right now. What that man is responsible for doing to us… and to me… I need some time to know if I’m ready to face it.”

 

“I will return here tomorrow night,” Pierce declared, turning toward the street. “I request that you make your decision by then.”

 

-:-

 

By the next morning, the rain had cleared up, and bright sunlight peeked through the patchwork of clouds still in the sky.

 

Nekou, Bunny and Dante led the way as the group entered Cherrygrove City from Route 29. Matt trailed behind them in order to stay alongside Olivia, who had to walk on crutches with her broken left leg bent up off the ground. The leading trio halted a short distance into the city’s boundaries, causing Matt and Olivia to stop as well.

 

“What is it?” he asked them. “Why did you stop?”

 

“You have to know where you’re going before you can go there,” Bunny replied. “So where exactly are we going?”

 

“I do say, we should head for the Pokémon Center first,” Dante proposed, switching which hand he used to hold the briefcase containing the Meteonite fragment and his cane. “We don’t want to burn out already.”

 

“You’re right. Olivia looks pretty tired, too… I don’t want to force her to walk for too long.”

 

“Let’s just go to the Pokémon Center,” muttered the sullen Olivia as she fell into agreement with Matt, Bunny and Dante.

 

“It’s not far from here,” announced Nekou, prompting the group to begin walking again. After they had been moving for a bit, she suddenly piped up again, saying, “So, Olivia, I’d say that with four Pokémon, you should have a good shot at that first badge.”

 

“Minccino, Roselia, Oshawott and Lillipup now,” Bunny reiterated. “Remember, Violet City’s Gym is a Flying-type Gym, so aside from Roselia, you have a pretty decent assortment of Pokémon to take it on. Just don’t forget to keep your team in shape, and that badge should be yours, no problem.”

 

“I don’t really want to talk about it right now,” Olivia growled back at the two women, shifting her gaze downward as she carefully hobbled on her crutches. “The last thing on my mind is a Gym battle. I’m a disgrace.”

 

“Don’t ever call yourself anything like that!” Nekou forcefully said, looking back over her shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. This world is a bitch and the only way to beat it is to be a bigger bitch right back at it. That’s what Maman taught me, and it’s helped keep me going.”

 

“I do think I owe you an apology, though, Olivia.” Unlike Nekou, Dante did not turn at all while he spoke. Instead, he simply kept walking. “It was my experiment on the Meteonite that caused the Bisharp and Pawniard to go wild. If not for my experiment, you would be perfectly fine right now. I’m sorry.”

 

“I guess I forgive you, then…”

 

“That was thoughtful of you, Dr. Fantomos. Thank you, I think it means a lot.”

 

Just as Matt finished his sentence, the five travelers stopped again. They were standing before a red-roofed building primarily constructed of blue-tinted glass, which had a Poké Ball shape above its entrance. Nestled within the more developed buildings of Cherrygrove City, this building and the trees visible beyond it presented an anachronistic appearance.

 

“Well, we’re here. The Pokémon Center,” Matt said out loud, not specifically addressing any of the others in particular. “Let’s go.”

 

No objection was raised, so the group moved forward once more. The double doors representing the entrance into the Pokémon Center slid aside when Nekou stepped before them, allowing her and the others inside.

 

The interior of the Pokémon Center presented a drastic contrast to the cold-feeling city outside its walls. Warmth radiated from the golden walls of the two-floored building, and the number of trainers in the facility with their Pokémon – ranging from those clustered around a large plasma-screen television to the left of the entrance, to those using a bank of public computers on the right, and still more traveling up and down between the two floors – truly made the Pokémon Center feel like a central terminal for the community.

 

As the first and most pressing order of business, Matt led Olivia to the desk at the center of the first floor, nestled between the two escalators going up to and down from the second floor; Nekou, Bunny and Dante followed shortly thereafter.

 

“Good morning!” the pink-haired nurse behind the desk cheerfully exclaimed in greeting. “Welcome to the Pokémon Center! What can I help you with?”

 

“We’ve all got some Pokémon that need healing,” Matt explained. He noticed that Olivia refused to speak to the nurse, though he reasoned that she might have just not been paying attention, so he stepped in.

 

“How many of you need healing? All five?”

 

“No, just four of us,” Bunny corrected. She glanced over to Dante; the old scientist hadn’t battled the Pawniard and Bisharp like they had, so she correctly reasoned that whatever Pokémon he had wouldn’t require healing.

 

“Then please place your Poké Balls in these trays one at a time,” the nurse explained, all while setting out a tray with six circles depressed into it on the brown surface of her desk. Olivia suddenly snapped back to attention and wobbled up first, carefully maintaining her balance as she placed her four Poké Balls in the tray. “Do you have a Pokédex, young lady?”

 

“Huh? Oh, yeah…here.” Carefully reaching into a pocket within her cape, Olivia produced her pink Pokédex and handed it to the nurse, who promptly scanned it with an electronic device.

 

“So you met up with Professor Juniper, Olivia? She’s a great person,” the nurse said, handing back the device before setting out a second empty tray. “You’re lucky to know her. Now, who’s next?”

 

“I am,” Matt answered, stepping forward carefully to allow Olivia space to move aside. Without hesitation, he placed six spheres of his own into their places. “Thank you for being so kind.”

 

“It’s my job, after all. May I see your Pokédex, sir?”

 

“I don’t have one.”

 

As soon as Matt said those words, the smile on the nurse’s face began to slowly fade. “Then in that case, the charge will be three hundred dollars.”

 

“Pokémon Centers in this region charge for service?” What Matt had just learned completely stunned him. He’d never heard of such a concept before; in his home region of Sinnoh, Pokémon Centers were entirely free, so the idea of having to pay for their services caught him completely off guard. Compounding his confusion further, though, he remembered that the nurse had clearly not asked Olivia for any sort of fee.

 

“Only trainers who have obtained a starter Pokémon and Pokédex receive free service at a region’s Pokémon Centers,” explained the nurse.

 

This made the whole idea make more sense in Matt’s mind, for in Sinnoh he had a Chimchar and often used a Pokédex loaned to him by his grandfather for fieldwork. Even though he was still rather surprised, he resigned himself to the situation and handed over his credit card to cover the fee.

 

“Transaction complete, thank you,” said the nurse, carefully returning the card to its owner.

 

Stepping aside to allow Bunny to move forward in line, Matt turned around and noticed an unusual number of people clustering around the television in the Pokémon Center’s lobby. He suddenly felt rather impatient due to his intrigue in the scene.

 

“Dr. Fantomos, look over there,” Matt commented, gesturing to indicate the area by the television. “What do you think is going on?”

 

“Obviously there’s something being broadcasted that has them all interested. Let’s go see what it is, shall we?”

 

Matt curtly nodded to the elderly scientist, indicating his agreement with the proposal. They walked side-by-side across the lobby to the viewing area with Olivia following closely behind. Once they reached the edge of the crowd, Matt tapped one of the trainers on the shoulder.

 

“Yeah, what?” When the young man, who was wearing a black leather jacket, turned around, his rather pronounced brown pompadour ended up right in Matt’s face, forcing Matt to back up a step.

 

“Just wanted to know, what’s going on here?”

 

“Oh, they’re saying that some speech is going to be given by a representative of something called Polaris,” he answered, turning back around. “I don’t really know what that means either.”

 

 _“Polaris… the group that tried to kill me in Whitegold City, and the ones Dr. Fantomos warned me about…”_ Matt thought to himself. _“There must be a reason why that name keeps coming up…”_

 

Something was clearly going on, and whatever it was, Matt found himself deeply troubled by it. While he pushed himself to think of some sort of connection between these events, though, Bunny and Nekou arrived, having dropped off their own Pokémon.

 

“So what the hell is going on here?” Nekou demanded in her typical fashion.

 

“Someone from Polaris is about to give a speech.”

 

Almost as soon as Matt answered her, though, the newscaster on the television attracted the attention of the entire crowd.

 

_“We’re now going to go live to the speech to be delivered by a representative of the Polaris group.”_

 

The image on the screen switched from the elderly, gray-haired newscaster at his desk to a simple, tight shot of the Polaris representative – that representative being Ghetsis, seen from the shoulders up with the oversized collar of his cape partially covering his mouth.

 

Though neither of them nor anyone else noticed, both Nekou and Dante scowled when they saw him.

 

 _“Good morning, people of the Tohjo Continent. My name is Ghetsis Harmonia, and I would like to speak to you today about a very important subject. More and more in this day and age, young trainers are suffering. The ideals we as older generations push upon our successors in this world are forcing our children to put themselves in dangerous, difficult positions. All Pokémon trainers are born equally, as are all Pokémon. It is this world, this system we have created that leads to inequality and suffering! It saddens me to the bottom of my heart to see young men and women suffer with no money on the road because they lost all of it in battles.”_ Ghetsis’s voice was actually losing its composure at this point, as if his sadness was sincere. _“We must ask ourselves, what is the best way to help make this world a more equal and fair place? Polaris is pursuing that truth. We will find the way to bring about true equality and fairness in the world! Please, continue listening to what we have to say as we work for a better tomorrow! Thank you for your time.”_

 

Upon his thundering conclusion, Ghetsis disappeared from the screen, and the crowd in Cherrygrove City’s Pokémon Center descended into a loud discussion of what his speech precisely meant. Many questioned the true meaning of the rambling speech, while plenty of others intensely discussed the merits of his point about the inequality of Pokémon trainers. It was as if the crowd had become possessed.

 

“What… was that?” Bunny wondered aloud, noticeably unsettled by the spectacle.

 

“I don’t know, but I don’t give a fuck about what that disgusting freak has to say,” Nekou immediately hissed.

 

Though he was equally as disturbed by Ghetsis’s speech, Matt pondered questioning why Nekou was so overtly agitated by it. He decided against doing so, however, and instead offered, “Let’s just forget we saw that and get our Pokémon.”

 

Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Dante walked back toward the counter to retrieve their Pokémon. However, there was something else they weren’t aware of.

 

The homeless Tenganist woman, the one who had met with Pierce the night before, was hiding behind a pillar in the corner of the Pokémon Center. She had seen Ghetsis’s entire speech, and saw Matt’s group as well.

 

“It’s all starting to happen…” she mumbled to herself, nestling her child closely against her chest as her nerves frayed. “I didn’t want you to get involved…”

 

-:-

 

A short while later, Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Dante were sitting around a table in the Pokémon Center’s dining area, discussing the events of the previous twenty-four hours over their respective meals.

 

“I really cannot apologize profusely enough for the consequences of my experiment.” Dante kept tripping over himself verbally in his efforts to express just how remorseful he was. “It was never my intent for such chaos to break out.”

 

“I appreciate it and all, and I’m glad you fixed my leg, but…” Olivia looked away before finishing, “…just stop apologizing.”

 

The mood at the table became incredibly awkward as a result of Olivia’s dour attitude. Matt just stared into his breakfast sandwich of egg and cheese on an English muffin, while Bunny shifted uncomfortably in her seat while rapidly glancing between Olivia, Dante and Nekou.

 

Perhaps fittingly, it was Nekou who broke the silence, blurting out, “Hey, Olivia, remember that pizza I promised Matt would get us? We’re still getting that!”

 

“Wait, I never…”

 

“Thanks, then…”

 

Matt was interrupted and subdued by the forced smile Olivia showed him. He’d seen that smile before, and it was one of his primary weaknesses related to her. It wasn’t a sarcastic smile, nor a genuinely happy one; instead, she used it when she was forcing herself to find one shred of positivity in a situation, usually when it involved her father.

 

“Want a newspaper?”

 

While collapsing in on himself over how much Olivia’s false smile bothered him, Matt failed to notice the still-disguised Pierce approach the table until the undercover Team Rocket agent was holding a folded-up newspaper right in his face.

 

“Yeah, um… I guess so? Thanks.”

 

As Matt accepted the paper, Pierce sat down at the next table so that their backs would be facing and opened up one of his own. Once he had made sure that the others were occupying themselves with eating, Matt unfolded and opened the paper he’d received from Pierce.

 

Almost immediately, a black file folder fell out onto Matt’s lap.

 

“What is this?”

 

“Open it,” Pierce instructed, not moving his head or even setting down his newspaper.

 

When Matt put his newspaper on the table but hesitated to do anything more, Nekou wasted no time in chiming in, saying, “You might as well take a look inside it. What harm could it do?”

 

“Eh, I guess so.”

 

When Matt opened the file, he was greeted by several documents, the topmost of which bore a large picture of Ghetsis in its upper-right corner. The rest of the folder’s contents elaborated in detail upon what appeared to be criminal case files regarding him.

 

“What is this?” Matt questioned, glancing back at Pierce, who still hadn’t moved. “And who are you? What’s going on?”

 

“That man you saw earlier on television, Ghetsis Harmonia, is not who he appears to be,” Pierce explained, seemingly ignoring Matt’s questions. “He was once the number one criminal on the International Police’s most wanted list for an array of crimes in Unova including kidnapping, forced servitude, Pokémon abuse, child abuse, burglary, assault and murder, both attempted and successful, all as the leader of an outfit called Team Plasma.”

 

Nekou and the others were listening to Pierce’s furtive explanation, too, and she gritted her teeth as he went on.

 

“So yeah, this man is bad news. The reason why I said he was once the International Police’s most wanted fugitive is because a little over two years ago, he was entirely purged from their database, meaning no evidence of his crimes survives, nor does any warrant for his arrest. That’s part of why he was able to make a fresh restart here as a member of Polaris.”

 

“What’s the other part?”

 

“Someone in the government is shielding him, I fear. The internet and all other communication mediums have been carefully controlled to make finding out the truth about Team Plasma and Unova impossible in this country. I dread to think what could happen if Polaris has already infiltrated deeply into the highest ranks of the government here.”

 

With that, Pierce rose from his seat, his newspaper tucked under his arm. Before he could leave, however, Matt spoke up again.

 

“Why are you telling me this, and who are you exactly?”

 

“You may call me Sam. Consider me an information broker… what I just gave you is essentially free. If you ever need my services, look for me in the one place not constrained by any rules, the place where the government cannot clamp down on the truth.”

 

“What was that all about?” Bunny groaned as she watched Pierce walk away. “Why do these strange things keep happening?”

 

“Don’t pay it too much mind,” Nekou abruptly answered. “He didn’t do anything to hurt us.”

 

“I guess not,” Matt decided with a shrug. “Let’s finish up here, then.”

 

-:-

 

Ghetsis hobbled down a cold, gloomy corridor in Polaris’s base shortly after his speech. His gait was crooked and uneven, and the white cane he supported himself on crashed noisily on the metal floor with each step. The cane was itself a rather unusual item; it was topped by a hollow circle with a knob-shaped handle at its highest point. Within the circle, positioned at the nexus of two narrow rods forming a cross shape, was a shield colored half-black and half-white that bore a blue ‘P’ insignia overlaid on a backward ‘Z.’

 

Approaching an iron door, Ghetsis raised the cane up and slammed it into the ground, activating a secret mechanism that opened the portal. He went inside, and the door slid shut behind him.

 

A dark, gloomy chamber waited beyond the doorway. It was illuminated only by the light filtering up from flickering computer screens and the pale blue neon lights fixed in a glass enclosure within the room.

 

Anthea and Concordia, the two women who Ghetsis had presented to the Sacred Helix, were contained within the transparent cage. They were still dressed shabbily in torn rags, and had loose chains connected to their wrists and ankles. Neither woman noticed Ghetsis come into the room and begin approaching their prison, as they were both more interested in the books of mythology their jailer had given them; however, when Ghetsis slammed his cane into the ground again, they immediately turned their blank eyes toward him.

 

“I see you two wenches have put yourselves to some use,” he menaced, seemingly deliberately trying to taunt them. “Are those books of myth decoded yet?”

 

“Lord Ghetsis, sir…”

 

“Of course they are not finished yet!!” Ghetsis thundered, interrupting Concordia before she had a chance to do much more than open her mouth. Both she and Anthea flinched, but only slightly; by this point they were beyond knowing Ghetsis’s typical behavior. “In the amount of time you have had those books, only a genius could have deciphered their secrets already! Of course, we all know that that word is one of the last ones we’d use to describe you two!”

 

In a fit of rage, Ghetsis swung his cane out and smashed a blown-glass flowerpot sitting nearby on the floor, leaving soil and a cluster of flowers to spread out on the ground. This outburst prompted a stronger-but-still-muted reaction from the two women, who still had enough left of their broken instincts to raise their arms over their faces; this also served the secondary purpose of hiding the tears of terror developing in their eyes.

 

Once Ghetsis was done with his explosive anger, he calmed down and began breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath. “But, it’s okay. None of it matters, because in the end, you two are simply nothing more than used, broken waste with little to no use left for me! I have everything I needed from you two, but I will allow you to live to see the world I will shape from the cold flames Polaris will reduce this planet to. A perfect world, in the image of a perfect ruler… you Tenganists cannot die out completely before some of you bear witness to what the king of Harmonia will create. And do you want to know what the best part about this entire thing is? All that remains to be done simply requires that defective freak son of mine along with the woman you Tenganists consider a prophet. You two have a front-row seat to the greatest spectacle this world will ever see!”

 

Though their faces remained blank, when Anthea and Concordia turned to face each other, terrible realizations came over them. Everything Ghetsis had said in his deranged rant, despite sounding like it made no sense, actually was completely true.

 

A sound like a gust of wind suddenly rang out in the chamber, prompting Ghetsis to turn around.

 

“Very well, you’ve returned. Report now.”

 

Three identical young men stepped out from the shadows. Each one was wearing a wig of long, white hair along with sleeveless, figure-hugging gray mesh uniforms and mouth covers. Their hands were covered by heavy black gloves that matched their equally-heavy boots, and their baggy black pants were surrounded by dark skirts closed up in the fronts by gray crosses.

 

“Lord Ghetsis, we have analyzed and searched Route 44 and the Ice Path,” one of the three stated.

 

“Neither your son or the woman you told us to look for was present in either location.”

 

“Some of the Pokémon in the areas we searched appeared to have been befriended without capture, however. This would suggest your son was in fact there at some point, Lord Ghetsis.”

 

“I see,” Ghetsis said, pondering this new information as he leaned forward on his cane and tightened his grip on it. “Redouble your search and expand the area. We must find that inhuman boy and the Tenganist woman before the others do.”

 

“We will meet your demands, Lord Ghetsis.”

 

Another gust of wind indicated the swift disappearance of the three ninja-like young men. Ghetsis briefly turned back to Anthea and Concordia.

 

“You two saw and heard nothing just now. I’m sure you both want to keep getting the amount of food you do get.”

 

Disappearing back into the darkness, Ghetsis wobbled to the door and exited the chamber. Once it was silent again, Concordia crumpled down onto her back and twisted slightly in the bedding that stretched from one end of their cage to the other.

 

“Anthea…” Concordia whispered, staring up at the ceiling, “…please, pray with me...”

 

-:-

 

“Are we heading to the Battle Arcade now, Matt?”

 

Bunny’s question came as the group left the Pokémon Center to return to the streets of Cherrygrove City. She had become the one walking alongside Olivia, as Matt had taken the lead, leaving the two of them along with Dante and Nekou to carry the rear.

 

“I don’t think I want to go there yet,” Matt announced, pausing his walk so the others could hear him. Putting his hands on his hips, he turned slightly and explained, “The Frontier Society facility leaders, the Frontier Brains, change their Pokémon to match the skill level of each challenger. With the Pokémon I have, it’s likely I’ll be facing a trainer at Gym Leader level or higher, so I’d like to find a place to do some training first.”

 

“Then I can help you with that, youngster!”

 

Having been sitting on a bench right outside the Pokémon Center, a surprisingly energetic-looking old man in a green sweater approached Matt. He had plainly overheard Matt and Bunny talking, and appeared eager to add his own contribution, his narrow eyes and thin mouth curled into expressions of genuine excitement.

 

“Who’re you?” Nekou said, grimacing. “And don’t you know it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

 

“You should talk…” Matt sarcastically mumbled under his breath.

 

“Now, now, it’s no problem at all,” the old man hurriedly assured. “People around town call me the Guide Gent, because I give tours of Cherrygrove. What’s this I hear about you wanting to go to a place where you can train your Pokémon?”

 

“Exactly that. I’m going to challenge the Battle Arcade soon, and I want to practice before I go.”

 

“Well, then, you’re in luck, kid!” The Guide Gent did not notice how uncomfortable Matt looked every time ‘youngster’ and ‘kid’ were used to refer to him, but both Nekou and Olivia did, and they began whispering mischievously to each other in the background.

 

The Guide Gent continued, “There’s a place in this city called a Trainer House. A lot of towns have ‘em now. Pokémon trainers gather there and have battles with each other, which should be just what you’re looking for. Interested?”

 

“Well, Olivia, what do you think?” Matt asked, turning halfway around. He was intrigued by the concept, but wanted to confirm that Olivia was comfortable with such a thing first.

 

“It couldn’t hurt.” Nekou suddenly whispered something in her ear, prompting Olivia to smile more broadly than she had all day and add, “Right, youngster?”

 

“Oh, come _on_ ,” he sighed, exasperated and yet encouraged by Olivia’s slow return to form. After running his hand down his face, Matt looked back at the Guide Gent and said,” Show us the way, please.”

 

“Will do! Come, youngsters, follow me!”

 

-:-

 

Before the group knew it, they found themselves standing outside of a spacious three-story building in the heart of Cherrygrove City. Aside from the Poké Ball logo on the building’s doorway, it was a rather inconspicuous structure that blended in well with the small but busy city around it.

 

“Here we are, the Trainer House!” the Guide Gent declared, spreading his arms and speaking with great pride in his voice. “This is right where you’ll want to be if your goal is to train your Pokémon.”

 

“Thank you very much for taking us here,” Matt said graciously. The old man’s help had definitely shaved quite a bit of time off of their trip, which in turn allowed Matt more time to dedicate to practicing for the Battle Arcade.

 

“Think nothing of it. I hope what you get out of coming here is worth the price.”

 

“Wait, what?” Bunny stopped the Guide Gent from walking off by putting her hand on his shoulder. She was troubled by his ominous statement and, as she was unable to put it out of her mind, Bunny resolved to clear it up. “What exactly do you mean by ‘price?’”

 

“This city was not always so congested,” responded the Gent, his voice becoming poisoned by a hint of bitterness. “It used to be a small, peaceful city on the shore. But when the Battle Arcade was built, and the Trainer House along with it, things changed around here.”

 

“Let the gentleman go, Bunny,” a bored-sounding Dante instructed. “There is nothing more he can offer us.”

 

Dante’s advice prompted Bunny to realize that he was right, and accordingly, she released her grip on the Guide Gent, who promptly bowed slightly to them one last time before exiting the area. There was no more business to be had outside the Trainer House, so the group moved inside, passing through the automatic double doors of the facility.

 

Inside was a sight much like the Pokémon Center, but different in a way that Matt and the others had trouble putting their fingers on. The facility’s vast lobby took up the entirety of the first floor; its floor, patterned with black and silver tiles alternating in a checkerboard arrangement, was polished so well that it reflected everything on it, from people to Pokémon to fixtures such as the elegant elevators and marble reception desk.

 

Another similarity between the Trainer House and Pokémon Center was that a thick cluster of people were gathered around a large television not far from where Matt and the rest of the group entered. Aside from Dante, they were drawn to the scene by a natural desire to see just what was going on.

 

Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia discovered a battle playing out on the television, depicting a Ludicolo facing off against an unfamiliar Pokémon. This creature had an insect-like appearance, taking on the general shape of a green mantis with leaves coming from his neck and waist.

 

 _“Another close call between Nando’s Leavanny and Dahlia’s Ludicolo!”_ blared the commentator of the match. _“Leavanny has a distinct advantage, but the Arcade Star is powerful! She’s holding her own!”_

 

“It’s Mister Nando!” Olivia exclaimed, finally cheering up as she recognized one of the figures on the television. He was someone she knew from five years ago, a man who indulged in both battles and the far showier Pokémon Contests. She didn’t know him to have the Pokémon he was now using, Leavanny, but it fit in with what she knew of his preferences, which tended toward Grass-types, Bug-types and Pokémon with musical ties.

 

“So he’s here too…” Matt mused, recognizing Nando as well. “This is the Battle Arcade, then?”

 

-:-

 

Indeed, the battlefield seen on the television was that of the Battle Arcade. A huge video screen loomed over the half-black, half-red arena floor, flanked on each side by a tall, cylindrical screen. Each of the side monitors displayed the three Pokémon designated for the battle by each trainer, while the center screen simply displayed a giant black square with several progressively smaller, outlined white squares condensing toward its middle.

 

Going downward from the top, Nando’s Leavanny was his second Pokémon, as was Dahlia’s Ludicolo. Their first Pokémon – Dragonite for Nando, Togekiss for Dahlia – were grayed out, indicating that they had fainted.

 

“What fabulous luck you’ve had so far!” Dahlia exclaimed, twisting around her space on the red side of the battlefield with fluid dance moves. The Arcade Star was a tall, thin woman whose skin showed a tan. Her clothing – a midriff-exposing yellow shirt and a pair of blue jeans – was so tight it left little to the imagination, and her messy, black, tendril-like hair wrapped around her as if it had a mind of its own as she danced. “But, I won’t let you leave here without a real test! Let’s see if you have enough luck to defeat me. Ludicolo, Energy Ball!”

 

“Very well,” Nando calmly responded, strumming the strings of the golden, Mew-shaped harp in his hand, “I shall show you what you seek. Leavanny, please use Signal Beam.”

 

Between the leafy antennae atop Leavanny’s head, a sphere of white light took shape briefly before transforming into a rainbow-colored beam aimed straight in Ludicolo’s direction. However, Ludicolo seemed to be much faster, and the glowing Energy Ball she launched had nearly connected before Leavanny intercepted it with his own attack.

 

The resulting explosion not only threw Leavanny back, it also created a gust of wind that visibly disturbed Nando’s long black hair and green cape. His cape would have blown off if he didn’t have it pinned in place with the red jewel and sky blue cravat he used, in fact.

 

 _“Those two attacks cancel each other out!”_ declared the announcer, to the delight of the audience gathered in the Battle Arcade. _“It’s pretty clear that Leavanny is suffering under the effect of the Trick Room induced by our game board, while Ludicolo is benefitting from a boost in its speed. Can Nando overcome this to gain the upper hand against our Arcade Star?!”_

 

The question made Nando adjust his wide-brimmed green hat and squint with his right eye, the one that was not covered by his hair, while he pondered the situation. It was true, he knew, that the speed-inverting effect of the Trick Room created at the start of the battle was forcing his Leavanny to move more slowly than Dahlia’s Ludicolo. This made dodging and attacking far more difficult than it usually was.

 

“Ludicolo, Hyper Voice!”

 

Dahlia’s command made Nando realize what he had to do right away. “Leavanny, please, bear with me and take the attack!”

 

Leavanny braced himself as Ludicolo began screaming, her voice taking visible form in sound waves that washed over Nando’s Pokémon. As much as he wanted to crumple before the deafening noise, Leavanny knew he had to hold fast and put as much effort as he could into doing so. Once Ludicolo’s Hyper Voice subsided slightly, Nando jumped on the opening.

 

“Now, Leavanny, I call for Air Slash!”

 

Jumping up into the air, Leavanny pulled his arms back. Blades of air formed around them, and with Ludicolo in his sights, he sent the blades plummeting down by swinging his limbs. Dahlia and Ludicolo were caught off guard by this sudden move and thus had little time to prepare, resulting in large pieces of Ludicolo’s grass poncho being cut off as she slipped to her knees.

 

_“Dahlia’s Ludicolo is down, but is it out?!”_

 

“Oh, not yet, honey! Try my last-ditch longshot move! Drain Punch!”

 

Nando simply shut his eyes and gently smiled as Ludicolo rushed Leavanny with her right arm drawn back. He knew a close-quarters move like this had to be coming, and it had finally arrived. As soon as he heard Ludicolo’s fist connect, he instructed, “Leavanny, grab Ludicolo.”

 

Much to Dahlia’s surprise, Leavanny effectively followed this direction, pinning Ludicolo in his grip. With her Grass-and-Water-type Pokémon frantically trying to escape its enemy, Dahlia exclaimed, “What?”

 

“And now it is time for my finishing move~” Nando sang while again strumming his harp. “Signal Beam!”

 

Another Signal Beam formed between Leavanny’s antennae and hammered Ludicolo into the ground at point-blank range with relentless force. A number of the audience members gasped at this turn of events, especially when the smoke cleared to reveal that Dahlia’s Ludicolo truly was defeated.

 

“Ludicolo is unable to battle!” the referee declared as Ludicolo’s icon was grayed out on Dahlia’s side of the field. “The winner is Leavanny!”

 

_“Another one of Dahlia’s Pokémon is down! The challenger now has a numbers advantage, with two of his Pokémon remaining against only her last one… but it’s also Arcade Star Dahlia’s most mighty fighter! Who is going to win this battle?”_

 

“Well done, Ludicolo, I hope you had a good time,” Dahlia said as she drew Ludicolo back into her Net Ball, a blue Poké Ball with black lines drawn on it to simulate a net pattern. The next ball she drew out, however, was a Master Ball; two bulbous red circles framed the letter ‘M’ in white against its dark blue top. “You’ve shown me excellent luck so far, Nando. I think it might even be more than that. Even with this Trick Room condition, you’ve managed to hold your own well against the Pokémon of a Frontier Brain… but I’m not the Arcade Star for no reason, you know! Prepare for my ultimate Pokémon! Now… dance, Zapdos!!”

 

The flash of light from Dahlia’s Master Ball took on the shape of a large, avian Pokémon, one with a long, pointed beak and jagged-edged wings. When its yellow-and-black coloring filled in, there could be no more doubt in any viewer’s mind that it was indeed the Legendary Pokémon, Zapdos.

 

_“Yes, it’s Dahlia’s Zapdos! Now, let’s see how Nando deals with fighting a legend! And remember, Trick Room is still in effect, so that could also affect the outcome!”_

 

“Legendary Pokémon are indeed creatures with incredible levels of power,” Nando said out loud, though the calmness in his voice now sounded rather forced. What truly betrayed his feelings, though, was the subtle shaking of his fingers as they wrapped around the base of his harp. “But… they can be beaten, and I think I may have an advantage in that regard…”

 

“Do you now?!” exclaimed Dahlia, the Frontier Brain’s energy boiling over. “Zapdos, don’t hold back! Show him what you’ve got! Heat Wave!”

 

“Leavanny, escape and use Air Slash!”

 

Zapdos pulled its wings back, but before it could complete its attack, Leavanny shot behind it in a burst of Trick Room-fueled speed. As a result, the gust of fire that Zapdos produced was left to flow aimlessly away, and the Legendary Electric-and-Flying-type took an Air Slash to the back that it easily shrugged off.

 

“Ah, that’s right, normally Zapdos would be faster,” Dahlia realized. “I must give you credit for using Trick Room to your advantage now after being hurt by it earlier. That’s not just luck, it’s taking control and making it your own. Unfortunately for you, your luck has run out! Zapdos, get behind Leavanny and use Drill Peck!”

 

“What?”

 

Nando was left briefly stunned when, instead of the frontal counterattack he was expected, Zapdos twirled through the air to get behind Leavanny. Even Zapdos’s movements, which were as agile and fluid as its trainer’s, exuded power.

 

“It makes sense, a dancer training their Pokémon to reflect their personal style.” Nando’s voice was calm once again, but this time, it was because he was seemingly resigning himself to his fate. “Repel it with Leaf Storm, please.”

 

From his own body language – particularly the steely, tense expression he wore on his face – it was clear that Leavanny also knew his fate was sealed. He knew he couldn’t run forever, even with Trick Room boosting his speed and agility, as that would never win the fight. For that he’d need to land effective strikes on his foe, and none of his moves would prove effective enough to stop Zapdos.

 

Nevertheless, Leavanny turned around to courageously face his fate, which took the form of Zapdos diving toward him beak-first while spinning rapidly like a drill. The torrent of sharp leaves he called forth did little to injure or otherwise halt Zapdos, and when its Drill Peck made contact, Leavanny was hurled dozens of feet back across the stage, past Nando and into the wall at the back of the Battle Arcade.

 

“Leavanny is unable to battle! The winner is Zapdos!”

 

_“And Nando’s Leavanny falls to Dahlia’s mighty Zapdos! It’s a stunning show of strength from our Arcade Star, and we now have a sudden death situation on our hands! One Pokémon left on each side... who will win?!!”_

 

“Please take a rest, Leavanny, you have more than earned it.” After returning his utterly defeated Leavanny to the safety of its Poké Ball, Nando turned back to face Dahlia and took out another sphere from his brown messenger bag. “Arcade Star Dahlia, I thank you for a most exhilarating match so far. When I entered the Battle Arcade today, I desired precisely this kind of battle, and I don’t want to let it end yet. Exploud, make your entry!”

 

Unlike Leavanny, who cut an elegant and refined figure, Nando’s final Pokémon was much more homely in appearance. The most distinguishing features on her blue body were her large mouth and the yellow-tipped tubes protruding from her head and tails.

 

_“For his final Pokémon, Nando calls upon a master of sound, Exploud! Could he be hoping to tap into the wide array of moves Exploud can offer?”_

 

“I don’t think I want to take chances with this one,” Dahlia mumbled, acknowledging her gut feeling telling her that Exploud was dangerous. “Zapdos, Heat Wave!”

 

Quickly running his fingers over his harp’s strings, Nando called out, “Get beneath it and use ThunderPunch!”

 

Normally, Exploud would be an even slower Pokémon than any of the others, but with Trick Room in effect she was able to slide underneath Zapdos with great speed. While Zapdos’s Heat Wave went off with no effect, Exploud’s right fist became wrapped in a shroud of electricity shortly before she leapt up to try and hit the Legendary Pokémon.

 

“Don’t let it!” Dahlia hastily warned. “Drill Peck!”

 

Even with the effect of Trick Room slowing it down, Zapdos was able to contort itself in the air to face downward, meeting Exploud’s ThunderPunch with a Drill Peck. The electricity of Exploud’s move combined with Zapdos’s spinning motion to send sparks and bolts of lightning all over the arena for a time; not long after the two combatants were separated by the force of their respective attacks.

 

_“An impressive showing from both trainers creates a gorgeous combination of moves! Most exciting!”_

 

 _“A combination of moves...”_ Nando thought to himself. _“That’s it! Maybe my Pokémon Contest techniques will help!”_ Thrusting his arm out, he called, “Exploud, please, use Fire Blast!”

 

“Such a thing won’t put me down! Zapdos, show no fear! Drill Peck!”

 

Dahlia’s words were not lost on her Zapdos, as it courageously dove right into the thick fireball that Exploud burst from her mouth. When the rapidly spinning avian Pokémon made contact with the burning blast, the fire exploded into a twisting spiral; however, by that time, Exploud had already appeared behind Zapdos.

 

“Now, use Hyper Voice!” Nando commanded, pointing forwardly across the field.

 

“I see what you’re up to. Thunderbolt!”

 

Like Dahlia’s Ludicolo before her, Nando’s Exploud took a deep breath and let out an explosive roar that manifested as visible sound waves. However, Zapdos stopped short while still enveloped in the remnants of Fire Blast and discharged electricity from all over its body. The electricity fused with not only the fire but the sound waves of Hyper Voice as well, creating shining rings of sparkling red energy that ultimately caused a gigantic explosion.

 

The bright light and gusting wind that radiated from the point of the explosion forced both Nando and Dahlia to cover their eyes. It took a full minute before the blast died down, revealing both Exploud and Zapdos, injured and breathing heavily.

 

“You were trying to force this to look like a Contest battle, weren’t you?” Dahlia correctly guessed, standing confidently with her hand on her hip. “I’ve participated in plenty of Pokémon Contests myself, so if you want to go there, I’ll gladly do it.”

 

Nando took a step back, clutching his harp with nervousness that also reflected in his eyes. _“Both Pokémon are getting exhausted,”_ he thought, apprising both Exploud and Zapdos standing still on the battlefield. _“I have to break through and start landing hits directly upon Zapdos, or we cannot win this…”_

 

“It’s time to wrap this up, Zapdos!” Dahlia shouted, as if she was reading Nando’s thoughts. She threw her hand upward into the air and yelled, “Launch Ominous Wind into the air, then Drill Peck through it!!”

 

Turning completely away from Exploud, Zapdos swung its wings upward, blowing a gust of purple-hued wind into the open air. Then, in front of the stunned eyes of Nando and the crowds both in the Battle Arcade and watching on television, Zapdos initiated Drill Peck, spinning right through the Ominous Wind before aiming for Exploud.

 

Staring at the purple spiral careening straight for his Pokémon, Nando came to a nervous realization. “We lose if we cannot keep up. Exploud, use ThunderPunch from below!”

 

Like earlier, Exploud attempted to slide beneath Zapdos and hit it with ThunderPunch, but this time, the aura surrounding the powered-up Electric-and-Flying-type clipped and stunned her.

 

“Go for the win now!” Dahlia exclaimed as Zapdos glided back to her side of the field. “Thunderbolt!”

 

“Exploud, don’t give up yet! Fire Blast!”

 

Exploud’s fireball and Zapdos’s lightning bolt cut past each other in midair, just barely avoiding a collision. As a result, both Pokémon suffered direct hits and were sent falling to the ground, where, burned and battered, they stared each other down with what strength they had left.

 

“I’m truly impressed. It’s been a while since Zapdos has had a fight this worthwhile... but it’s about time this came to an end! Use Heat Wave and then Drill Peck!”

 

As Zapdos mimicked its earlier combination move, substituting Heat Wave for Ominous Wind, Nando realized just how serious his situation was. “We’re going to have to go for the long shot, Exploud. Combine Ice Punch and ThunderPunch, I ask you!”

 

On Nando’s order, Exploud’s right fist began emanating ice while her left fist became electrified. She hit them together, combining the powers of ice and electricity into both fists, then swung them both forward to intercept Zapdos’s fiery drilling attack.

 

The two managed to hold even ground against each other. Neither could knock out or even force the other back. Embers from Zapdos’s body flaked over Exploud, singeing her skin, while the ice and electricity of Exploud’s punches began to nullify the force of Zapdos’s charge.

 

For a brief moment, Exploud and Zapdos could see into each others’ eyes within the maelstrom of their attacks. A glare of respect was exchanged between them – then they each gave their last ounce of strength into a final push forward.

 

From the explosion that resulted from the powerful clash, Zapdos dropped forward past Exploud, crashing into the ground – and it did not get up. A split second later, Exploud fell down, but her opponent was already defeated.

 

“Zapdos is unable to battle! The winner is Exploud, and the victory in this Battle Arcade match goes to the challenger, Nando!”

 

A thunderous cheer went up among the assembled crowd at the Battle Arcade as the announcer, channeling the excitement into his voice, declared, _“And there’s an outcome we rarely see! I know I never expected it today… Dahlia’s Zapdos has been beaten! Nando’s Exploud has managed to defeat it!!”_

 

“Hm… so that’s how my luck runs out…” A broad smile came over Dahlia’s face as she recalled Zapdos to its Master Ball. “You did great, Zapdos! The luckiest thing of all is when you get to battle all out, and I couldn’t have had such a treat without your help!”

 

With that, Dahlia began walking over to Nando, who was kneeling next to his badly wounded Exploud and petting her head.

 

“And I must congratulate you too, Nando!” she said happily. “A fierce battle is truly a joyous occasion, and you have the honor of being the winner! You too, Exploud, you were truly impressive!”

 

“I sincerely thank you, Arcade Star Dahlia,” Nando responded, rising back to his full height. “My Pokémon thank you as well, for this most excellent battle.”

 

-:-

 

Having seen the conclusion of Nando and Dahlia’s battle, much of the crowd surrounding the television in the lobby of the Trainer House began to dissipate. Matt, however, remained firmly rooted where he stood, and as a result, the others in his group didn’t leave either.

 

“Mister Nando’s just as amazing as always, don’t you think?” Olivia cheerfully said to him, seemingly forgetting about her crutches for a brief moment.

 

However, Matt was all but oblivious to what she was saying, as his attention was fixated on what had just unfolded at the Battle Arcade. “So that’s what I’m up against?” he mumbled to himself. “I’m not sure I stand a chance…”

 

“I told you, the road to the truth is not an easy one.” Seemingly having overheard Matt’s musings, Dante stood alongside him, pushing up his glasses before speaking further. “But if you cannot stand up to Zapdos, how do you hope to ever have a chance of finding Reshiram, whose power greatly eclipses it?”

 

“You’ve got a point. I’ll need to prepare if I’m going to have any chance of winning, though.”

 

“That means you’ll be training here, then?” Bunny chimed in, having made her way into the conversation. “The registration counter’s right over there,” she then added, gesturing to her right.

 

“Let’s do it, then.”

 

With a sudden spring in his step, Matt strode across the lobby, arriving at the registration desk well before the others, with Olivia and Dante bringing up the rear. A brunette woman dressed in a plain white blouse and green pencil skirt was operating the counter, and she smiled at the group when they arrived before her.

 

“Welcome to the Cherrygrove City Trainer House.” Though her voice was pleasant enough, she was hoarse and spoke robotically, as if she’d said the same thing repeatedly and worn herself out on it. “We offer facilities for Pokémon trainers to develop and hone their battling skills in controlled environments. Would you like to rent one of our training rooms?”

 

Disregarding what he thought was the woman’s obvious boredom with her job, Matt replied, “Yes, that’s exactly what I’d like, please.”

 

After signing his name to the guest ledger that the receptionist thrust in his direction, Matt was handed a ticket that she printed out from the computer on her desk. It read “S1-R12.”

 

“Your battle room is number twelve on sublevel one. Please take the elevator to your left. Thank you for using our services, Mr. Chiaki.”

 

Almost immediately upon his turning around, Nekou grabbed Matt’s arm and began dragging him toward the elevator. “No time to lose! Wasted time can’t be regained!”

 

Wrenching his arm free of her grip, Matt growled, “What’s gotten into you? This time, I mean.”

 

“If you don’t train, you won’t beat Dahlia. And if you lose, what good are you to me?”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“It means… um… fuck. Did you forget about that pizza you promised me and Olivia? If you lose, you can’t keep your promises!”

 

“I didn’t promise that…” Matt sighed in exasperation before turning to Bunny, Olivia and Dante. “I need a training partner, though.”

 

“I’ll train with you,” Dante offered as the group resumed their trip to the elevator. “I think battling you would be a rather intriguing affair.”

 

“You’ve got Pokémon of your own?” Bunny questioned, plainly surprised by Dante’s words. “I hadn’t quite expected you to be a trainer yourself.”

 

“Well, not professionally like the younger generation, at least.” A wistful look filled Dante’s eyes as he spoke. “Things aren’t like how they were when I was younger.”

 

“Then why are you offering to train with me exactly?”

 

“I like you and your little team, Matt,” Dante confessed. “You four remind me of how things used to be, when people quested for big things. Well, that and the fact that I can just feel how badly my Alakazam and Ditto want to battle again, but do forgive this old man for making you listen to his ramblings.”

 

“It’s no big deal, in fact, what you had to say was actually kind of interesting.” Matt caught Nekou grimacing in the corner of his eye and realized that she didn’t share his appreciation of Dante’s philosophizing at the time. Disregarding that, though, he realized that they had reached the elevator, and reached for the call button.

 

Before Matt could press it, the doors opened in front of him. Inside the elevator was someone Matt recognized – a young man, dressed plainly in a black jacket and blue jeans but sporting shoulder-length red hair and an intense facial expression. He plainly recognized Matt too, and stepped out of the elevator before putting his hand on his hip and confronting the group.

 

“Somehow I’m not surprised I ran into you here, Matt Chiaki. I knew I had to get stronger before facing you, and it looks like that time has come.”

 

“Have we met before?” Bunny questioned, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I remember you,” Matt said. He then tilted his head back and looked over his shoulder to Bunny. “Silver, the trainer I was going to battle at the Frontier Society tournament back on the Indigo Plateau. Remember? I was going to battle him but he decided to surrender and leave the tournament.”

 

“Oh, now I remember!”

 

“So what’s the matter, Silver?” Nekou mockingly asked of the young man. “Did Matt, of all people, scare you?”

 

“You, be quiet.” Silver’s casual, rude dismissal of Nekou’s provocation surprised Matt far more than her original action did, leaving him to stare blankly as Silver turned an intense glare toward him. “I have unfinished business with Matt Chiaki.”

 

“This young man certainly appears to mean business, Matt,” Dante advised. “I’ll politely step aside from battling you this time, because it looks like you’ve found your real opponent.”

 

“I guess it makes sense, doesn’t it? Silver, if you’re serious about this, and I have no reason to think you aren’t, follow us back downstairs. Come on, Olivia.”

 

With Silver now in tow, the group crowded into the ivory-walled elevator. Olivia and Dante entered first, owing to the fact that they had assistance devices for walking. Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Silver all followed them.

 

On the wall next to the door was a selection of buttons, marked “1,” “2,” 3” and “S1.” Matt chose the final button and pressed it, prompting the elevator’s doors to close so the car could transport its passengers down.

 

“You never really explained why you quit the tournament, Silver.”

 

Silver growled; evidently he was bothered by having to think about his previous encounter with Matt’s group, even though nothing bad had happened. “I wasn’t strong enough,” he finally admitted, however. “I saw your strength and I knew I was outmatched.”

 

“Why not just battle him and find out how it would go?” Olivia questioned.

 

“There was no reason to. I could have, but I would not have gained anything from it. In order to get stronger, I believe that you must fight on the same level as your enemy, which meant I had to hone my skills further.” Silver thrust his finger upward, pointing right in Matt’s face, and declared, “I’ve done that, so now, consider this battle the one we didn’t have then.”

 

Before Matt could say anything in regards to the challenge laid down against him, the elevator stopped and its doors opened. Beyond the threshold on sublevel one was nothing more than a wide, brightly-lit corridor. Six doors lined up next to each other on each wall, each leading to its own athletic court.

 

“Tell me what number room you got,” Silver demanded.

 

“Twelve,” Matt replied, fumbling for the reservation ticket in his pocket.

 

“Fine. It’s this way.”

 

With his hands tucked into his own pockets, Silver skulked over to the door nearest to the elevator on the right side, which had a large number ‘12’ painted on it in yellow. Silver snatched the ticket from Matt’s grasp and held it up to a sensor next to the door, prompting it to open. He then crumpled the paper up and tossed it back to Matt before abruptly entering the room.

 

“Someone got their cornflakes pissed in this morning,” Nekou groaned, following behind Olivia into the room.

 

“Please don’t make a scene now,” Matt pleaded with her. “Let this go as smoothly as it possibly can.”

 

Surprisingly enough, Nekou listened and backed down, allowing both herself and Matt to finally enter after the others.

 

Inside was an entirely blank, slate-gray room. A crude battlefield outline was drawn on the floor in chalk, and off to the side, there was a bench for spectators. Bunny, Olivia and Dante were already there, so Nekou joined them while Matt took his place on the battlefield to face Silver.

 

“This is where we’re going to fight?” Matt blanched. “It’s so lifeless.”

 

“That’s why they give you the opportunity to customize it,” snapped the redheaded young man. “Learn what you’re doing, or you aren’t a worthy opponent for me.”

 

As if on cue, a robot in the shape of an oversized Poké Ball floated down next to the spectator bench. Nekou immediately jumped up, and using a keyboard attached to the machine, activated the program to edit the battlefield. Small, crystalline domes surrounding the battlefield space began to glow as a result.

 

With only a few clicks, Nekou loaded a battlefield map, and the crystal generators shined even brighter. When their light faded, the room had been completely transformed, now resembling an artificial forest in a greenhouse. Trees and rocks were everywhere, and the rocky floor had been transformed into a cool, healthy clearing of grass.

 

“So it’s true!” Bunny exclaimed. “I had heard these places could become any kind of battlefield, and it really was true!”

 

“All computers and holograms,” explained Nekou. “This battlefield is for all intents and purposes solid, but it can be reverted back into data and put back into the system when we’re done with it.”

 

With Matt and Silver each on their respective end of the forest arena, the battle only needed some rules put into place before it could begin, an opportunity Silver seized without hesitation.

 

“We’ll make this a Single Battle with three Pokémon on each side,” he announced while pointing straight at his opponent, leaving no room for debate. “Obviously, the battle will be over when all three Pokémon on one side faint.”

 

“Fine by me,” Matt agreed, grasping the front of his hat. “Do you want to use the Pokémon we used in the tournament first?”

 

“I don’t care about that. The rules of that tournament were too restrictive for me to get much out of it, so I don’t care what Pokémon you go with. For myself, on the other hand…”

 

Cutting himself off in the middle of his own sentence, Silver took a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it. A hulking, blue Pokémon with a muscular build and powerful jaws erupted out; he stood on a pair of firm legs as he stretched out his clawed, club-like arms.

 

“I was training Feraligatr at the tournament,” Silver elaborated, “so I’ll use it here too.”

 

“I see.” Still holding the front of his hat, Matt quietly pondered what he had to do. _“This battle is to practice for the Battle Arcade. Dahlia uses Togekiss, Ludicolo and Zapdos, and with me now… I have Heatran, Reuniclus, Aggron, Rotom, Golurk and Salamence with me. Based on that… I know which three I’ll go with.”_

 

Readying a Poké Ball of his own from his bag, Matt called out, “Tony, make your mark!”

 

Feraligatr’s bulk was more than matched by the Pokémon Matt sent out to face him, a dinosaur-like creature whose craggy black body had bands of silver metal around the limbs. Coming in at a height just shorter than that of his opponent, the Aggron turned his steel head upward to allow his blue eyes to meet the gaze of Silver’s Feraligatr.

 

“An Aggron,” Bunny noted with a bit of apprehension, “against a Feraligatr. Aggron is Steel-and-Rock-type, while Feraligatr is Water-type. I’ve got to wonder what Matt was thinking, sending in something with such an obvious disadvantage…”

 

“And Feraligatr is the final evolution of Totodile,” Olivia added, somewhat bitterly. “I wonder how much I missed out on…”

 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but sending in a Rock-type against a Water-type?” On his side of the battlefield, Silver was just as confused as Bunny about Matt’s choice. “Basic type logic is on my side, but I’m sure you know that already.”

 

“I’m getting ready to challenge Dahlia over at the Battle Arcade,” Matt explained, “so I’m going with the Pokémon I want to use there, to warm them up.”

 

“If your path to the Battle Arcade goes through me, I’ll see to it that you never get there! Feraligatr, Waterfall!”

 

“Tony, I think you can outgun it! Head Smash!”

 

Both Tony and Feraligatr started to charge at each other, their bodies each taking on different qualities to reflect their moves. Tony’s head took on a bright glow, while Feraligatr’s entire body was surrounded by a current of water.

 

When they collided, the two Pokémon pushed against each other for several intense moments before Tony was overwhelmed and thrown back. However, his attack was not entirely a failure, as Feraligatr also stumbled backward in Silver’s direction, just in a far more subtle way.

 

“So that didn’t work. Fine, I’ll try something else. Tony, give Iron Tail a shot!”

 

“Hmph, how desperate can you be?” Silver sighed, as if he was annoyed by how the battle was going. “Feraligatr, you use Iron Tail as well!”

 

Both Pokémon lunged at each other again, this time with their tails glowing with silvery light. They both tried to hit the other by swinging their tails, but once again, Feraligatr prevailed, pitching Tony back into a tree textured by the battlefield. The false foliage cracked under Tony’s weight, and a large portion of it faded into thin air in a cloud of binary code.

 

“The reason why Aggron is an especially poor choice against Feraligatr is actually twofold,” Silver spoke before not only Matt but Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Dante, who were all fascinated in the battle for their own reasons. “One, the reason you already know, that Water is super-effective against Rock. You already knew that, but what shocks me is that you don’t know reason number two – Steel-type moves don’t affect Water-types much. For that reason, you have no chance. Recall Aggron if you want to have any chance of defeating Feraligatr.”

 

Matt stopped and stared nervously at the ground. _“He’s got a point. I knew that, but it slipped my mind,”_ he thought, running a hand over the stubble on his face. _“If my attacks can be so easily repelled, I won’t be able to win. Maybe I should recall Tony…”_

 

“Time’s up, your decision for Aggron is made. Feraligatr, Waterfall!”

 

Seeing the water-cloaked Feraligatr charging his way again, Matt panicked and blurted out, “Block it with Double-Edge!”

 

Matt hadn’t noticed yet, but Tony seemed to realize something about the battle and Feraligatr. As a result, he lowered his head and turned Double-Edge into a headbutting move instead of a tackling move. He charged ahead, right into Feraligatr’s attack, and managed to hit Feraligatr’s own head directly. Both Pokémon were affected by the collision, but Feraligatr was visibly shaken up by the force he’d been hit with.

 

“Tony, what did...” Suddenly, what his Pokémon had done clicked with Matt. _“Aggron as a species is far more defensive than Feraligatr! If we simply parry Feraligatr’s attacks with similar moves of our own, Feraligatr will end up defeating himself!”_ Undoing and opening his coat, Matt said to his Pokémon, “Good thinking, Tony! That’s how we’ll win!”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I will be the winner! Feraligatr, Iron Tail!”

 

Tony’s Double-Edge had more of an effect on Feraligatr than either Matt or Silver realized, however. The hulking Water-type could not carry out his orders immediately due to the fact that he was having difficulty maintaining his balance after the blow he’d received.

 

It wasn’t long before Feraligatr managed to overcome his dizziness, though, and Matt was ready for him when he did. “Hit Feraligatr’s tail with Dragon Claw!”

 

As Feraligatr swung his tail around, Tony had a glowing claw ready to intercept it. Iron Tail had so much force put into it that Tony had to strain greatly for his own move to have any effect, but it paid off when he managed to reverse the pace of Feraligatr’s attack, throwing Silver’s Pokémon into a spin.

 

“If that won’t work, we’ll get even closer! Feraligatr, use Ice Punch repeatedly!”

 

In order to stop his spinning, Feraligatr leaned down and dug his claw into the ground, quickly halting his movement. He then rose to his full height, tensed the muscles in both of his arms and charged at Tony anew, with his claws and forearms radiating icy air.

 

“I’ll gladly fight up close! Meet every one with Dragon Claw, Tony!”

 

Bracing himself, Tony met every one of the punches dealt by Feraligatr by stabbing Feraligatr’s fists with his claws; both alternated their strikes, matching each other evenly.

 

“Now this is a battle,” Nekou commented, still standing behind the floating computer. She seemed to be paying surprisingly close attention to the match. “Olivia, what do you think?”

 

“Feraligatr’s strong, but I expected that.” Smiling, she continued, “But Matt’s doing really well. I’m actually impressed.”

 

“I agree,” Bunny concurred. “Even with the bad type matchup, Matt’s figuring out ways to make it work. I’m not sure if he can actually pull off a win, though…”

 

For his part, Dante simply sat still and quietly observed the events unfolding before him.

 

Tony and Feraligatr were still exchanging blows when Silver suddenly smirked. “I’ve got you right where I want you,” he tauntingly hissed. “Iron Tail!”

 

In the blink of an eye, Feraligatr halted his punching assault and switched back to using his tail, undercutting Tony and forcing him to fall forward. He fell right into Feraligatr’s grasp, and the Water-type Pokémon gripped Tony by wrapping his arms around the Aggron.

 

“What?!” Matt gasped in disbelief, a sentiment shared by his friends on the sidelines. “How am I supposed to... use Iron Tail, I guess!”

 

Tony’s tail did begin to glow, but he was unable to wriggle free of Feraligatr’s grasp and therefore was unable to use it. Feraligatr smiled; it was not a smile of happiness but one of cocky confidence, much like the one worn by his trainer.

 

“Now, Feraligatr!” Silver called out, pointing directly forward. “Throw Aggron with Waterfall!”

 

A veil of water erupted around the two Pokémon, putting Tony into visible distress. That wasn’t enough for Feraligatr, though; he began trying to lift his opponent, exerting all the energy he could into raising the Aggron up.

 

It was Feraligatr’s clear struggle to pick up Tony that inspired Matt to continue. “I know you’ve got some more left in you, Tony. I can feel it!”

 

Responding to Matt’s encouragement, Tony growled and shifted himself against both Feraligatr’s grip and the water pounding his body, making himself even heavier and thus harder for Feraligatr to lift.

 

“Come on, Feraligatr, finish it!” roared Silver. Despite the resistance Tony was putting up against his Feraligatr’s advances, Silver still thought he could feel victory within his reach.

 

“Dragon Claw!”

 

Even though he was still trapped in Feraligatr’s grasp, Tony managed to pull his left arm free. He jabbed his glowing claws into Feraligatr’s torso, a move that finally broke the Waterfall and freed him from the Water-type.

 

“Aggron got away!” Bunny exclaimed as she, Nekou, Olivia and Dante watched the two Pokémon separate in what appeared to be preparation for a final clash. “Matt just might pull this one out after all!”

 

“Maybe he isn’t so bad after all,” Nekou deadpanned at the battlefield controls. “He might actually earn some credit this time.”

 

“Feraligatr’s strong, but… maybe Matt and Aggron are stronger?” With her hand over her mouth, Olivia’s voice came out muffled but still reflective of the thought in her mind.

 

Tony threw off the water that was still dripping down his steel armor by flicking his arms and head. After that, seeing that Feraligatr was still standing prompted to shake the room with a mighty roar.

 

“Tony…” Interpreting the roar as a sign of his Aggron’s emotions toward the battle, Matt hesitated for a moment before smiling. “You want to finish this up, then? Be my guest. Head Smash!”

 

Growling in frustration, Silver would have none of this. “Feraligatr, get the upper hand! Waterfall!”

 

In the exact same way that the battle had begun, Tony and Feraligatr rushed each other and collided head-to-head. However, unlike the first time, Feraligatr’s body had become weak after trying to pick up Tony, and as a result he could not hold out. Tony’s Head Smash made full impact and threw Feraligatr over, and with his head reddened from the blow, the Water-type did not get up.

 

“Well done, Tony,” Matt congratulated, wiping his brow. Both he and his Aggron were gasping for air after Feraligatr finally went down, exhausted for different reasons. “That was excellent work.”

 

It slipped their minds for just a brief second that Feraligatr was only the first of Silver’s Pokémon to fall and that the battle was far from over. This was not a fact forgotten by Silver, though, and as he wordlessly recalled Feraligatr he already had his second Pokémon ready.

 

“That was the first Pokémon I ever got that you just beat.” Holding up a Great Ball – a blue Poké Ball with two red bars on its top – in his right hand, Silver spoke in a voice that was subtly poisoned by an angry, frustrated growl. “I must have underestimated you, and that will not happen again! Mamoswine, enter the battle!”

 

If Feraligatr could be called a large Pokémon, the beast that followed him as Silver’s second choice could rightfully be known as huge. Her massive body was supported by four stout legs and covered in brown fur. A white-and-blue frame surrounded her fairly small eyes, and below the smattering of cream-colored fur around her red nose, two grand tusks shaped from solid ice emerged. She stamped her foot into the ground repeatedly as she looked down on the Pokémon before her.

 

“Mamoswine’s a completely different obstacle than Feraligatr,” commented Bunny, “what with being an Ice-and-Ground-type.”

 

“It’s true that his Ground-type is a risk,” Matt responded, having heard Bunny speaking, “but Mamoswine is half Ice-type, too. Tony, still up for this?”

 

Though he was visibly tired, Tony was enjoying the fight too much to quit. He grunted and nodded back to his trainer, so Matt adjusted his hat and steeled his stance.

 

“Good luck, then, Tony. Use Iron Tail!”

 

“You aren’t getting me this time!” Silver yelled out. “Mamoswine, Earthquake!”

 

Long before Tony had any chance of reaching Mamoswine with his glowing tail, the towering Pokémon slammed her front legs into the ground. The resulting shockwave ravaged much of the illusionary landscape on its way to violently shaking beneath Tony’s feet. Blasts of seismic energy radiated through Tony’s body from underground, causing him to spasm sharply before falling down as soon as the attack abated.

 

“To be expected,” Nekou scoffed. “Aggron would have had a hard time even without the stress from beating Feraligatr first.”

 

“Good job, Tony,” Matt said to the Poké Ball in his hand after recalling his Aggron to its confines. “That wasn’t an easy fight by any means.”

 

“We’re even now,” Silver called out across the field, his voice as cold as the ice composing his Mamoswine’s tusks. “Tell me that your next Pokémon is going to actually give Mamoswine a challenge. I won’t get any stronger if I just crush you.”

 

“And I won’t get stronger either if that happens, so wouldn’t you say a tough battle would be good for us both?”

 

“Now that’s what I wanted to hear.” A daring smile crept onto Silver’s face, breaking his usual dour attitude. It wasn’t out of happiness, though; instead, it was fueled entirely by his eagerness for a brawl. “Show me your next Pokémon!”

 

“That’s fine by me! Patrick, make your mark!”

 

Matt threw the Dive Ball after taking it from his bag, sending Patrick out once again. The Seismitoad briefly yawned, but when he saw Mamoswine, he realized that he was in a battle and snapped to attention.

 

On the sidelines, Bunny seemed slightly alarmed by Matt’s choice. “Matt’s going with a Pokémon he only just caught recently, against a well-trained opponent no less?”

 

“Well, he’s got to help get Seismitoad stronger at some point, right?” Olivia pointed out. “And Seismitoad did help us fight that nasty Bisharp, so it could work.”

 

“Don’t think you’ve got this wrapped up yet,” Silver grunted, standing with his hand tucked firmly in his pocket. “Give me everything you’ve got.”

 

“Gladly,” Matt quickly replied. “Patrick, if he wants to be hit hard, let’s give him just that. Scald!”

 

“Mamoswine, Hail.”

 

The two Pokémon maneuvered their bulky bodies in curves around the field, matching each others’ movements. Neither broke eye contact with the other, but it was Patrick who acted first, opening his wide mouth to spit up a stream of steaming-hot water into Mamoswine’s face. The Ice-and-Ground-type closed her eyes as the burning water erupted into steam against her face and singed her fur.

 

A splash of red, discolored hair formed a bizarre spot on Mamoswine’s face as a residual of the attack. She did, however, manage to snap back into focus rather quickly, and once she did, she looked up to the high ceiling and howled. A soft white aura surrounded her body briefly before bursting into a thick cover of clouds that enveloped the entire chamber, within which a relentless ice storm began. Hailstones buffeted Patrick, but they had no effect on Mamoswine, who seemed to fade into the mist.

 

“Matt better watch himself,” Nekou muttered to Bunny and Olivia while wiping the water off of her glasses. “If Silver’s doing what I think he is, then this is going to be quite a ride. I’m not surprised he’d use a Ground-type with such skill, though.”

 

“His favorite type, like my dad with Water-types?” Olivia wondered.

 

“It’s just in his blood, I guess you could say.”

 

Matt was openly as bothered by the clouds in the air as Nekou was. He squinted his visible eye several times and wiped condensation off of the mask covering his other eye before saying anything.

 

“So you’re going to work me down slowly with Hail?” he breathily said. “I’ll have to deal with you quickly, then. Patrick, use Scald again!”

 

“Just what I wanted,” Silver mumbled with a smirk.

 

What happened next was hard to describe. Patrick thought he saw Mamoswine clearly in the storm while he aimed Scald, and as far as Matt, Bunny, Nekou and Olivia all could see, there was no reason to doubt that. Just before the searing stream made contact, though, what appeared to be Mamoswine simply vanished, revealing itself to be little more than a mirage.

 

“What? How did it miss?”

 

“That was Mamoswine’s ability, Snow Cloak,” Nekou explained, her glasses catching the light from the fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling and glowing as a result. “It becomes more evasive in a hailstorm.”

 

“So the Hail wasn’t itself what was going to wear me out, it was Mamoswine escaping my attacks…”

 

“That’s right. I wanted to test this tactic out on opponents who could give it a challenge.” While offering these details, Silver remained nearly still, keeping his body stiff and his hand in his pocket. He finally moved shortly after, however, pointing at Matt as he called out the command, “Earthquake!”

 

Mamoswine had completely disappeared in the murk consuming the battle, so when she roared, her disembodied voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. It was impossible for anyone to tell where the shockwave radiating through the ground originated from, but regardless of that fact, Patrick was shaken to his knees as a result.

 

“I think it’s behind you, Patrick! Hit it with Drain Punch!”

 

A gurgling sound rumbled from Patrick’s mouth, indicative of his anger as he whirled around and swung his glowing fist in a wide arc across the space previously to his back. It was all for naught, though; if Mamoswine had been there just a moment earlier, she no longer was.

 

“This works better than I expected,” Silver mused. “If I’m getting this much mileage now, I can only imagine how well it’ll do against _his_ Pokémon. It’s about time to wrap this up, so use Earthquake one more time!”

 

 Once more, Mamoswine bellowed from no discernible location and broke the ground with a seismic shockwave. Patrick fell from his knees onto all fours, trembling violently from the repeated spasms forced through his body. Yet, he did not faint, and that was what visibly flustered Silver while leaving Matt relieved.

 

“That didn’t do it? I’ll have to admit it, then… you’re giving me just the kind of challenge I wanted.”

 

“Underestimating your opponent’s a mistake,” Matt advised the younger trainer. “If you underestimate what you’re against, you won’t bring your best to the fight.”

 

“That’s good and all but I wasn’t underestimating you,” Silver sneered, his façade of smug calmness beginning to crack. “You are a means to an end for me, and for that, I need you as strong as you possibly can be. You think I’m underestimating you? I’ll show you how serious I can be! Mamoswine, Ice Shard! Finish it off!”

 

A glint in the churning murk of the hailstorm caught Matt’s eye, and he knew immediately what he had to do. “Ninety degrees to your right! Scald!”

 

In a sudden burst of agility, Patrick deliberately fell onto his stomach and turned around by exactly the prescribed angle. The chunks of ice that Mamoswine had directed his way simply flew right over his head, having no effect on him as he spat back another burst of boiling water.

 

“Mamoswine, wha…” Silver stopped his response to Mamoswine’s pained wail short when he spotted her amongst the clouds. She was now the one trembling, with some sort of injury near her mouth acting as the source of her suffering. From the bright red discoloration of her fur in that area, Silver realized that she had been inflicted with a burn. “Damn it! Stopped when I was so close... this is not over yet. Mamoswine, come back!”

 

Seeing no sense in forcing Mamoswine to fight further at the moment, Silver called her back into the relative safety of her Great Ball. He then gripped another Poké Ball in his hand, but hesitated in throwing it.

 

“My third and last Pokémon,” Silver thought aloud. “To call this a win for myself, I must make everything I can out of this one. Mamoswine can’t do this alone, and if I want to get strong enough to defeat _him_ , I have to be able to win battles like this…” Finally throwing the Poké Ball, he shouted, “Gengar, enter the battle!”

 

In keeping with the eclectic, random nature of Silver’s team, his third Pokémon was a roughly five-foot-tall ghost with the appearance of a black shadow. Just about the Gengar’s only distinguishing features were his sinister red eyes and wide, toothy smile.

 

“A Gengar? Now I’m interested.” Stiffly pushing her glasses up on her nose, Nekou walked away from the control computer and dropped herself next to Bunny on the bench. “This might be where Silver turns it around.”

 

“What’s gotten into you all the sudden?” Bunny questioned, genuinely confused regarding how Nekou’s mind had changed so fast.

 

“Ghost-types fight completely differently than users of brute force like Feraligatr and Mamoswine,” Nekou explained. “I’m interested to see how Matt handles one…” She then abruptly added, “Strictly from a knowledge standpoint, of course. I just want to know what he’s capable of.”

 

From his spot on the battlefield, Matt was having similar thoughts. After taking a moment to assess the situation and his chances, he thrust his hand out and called, “Patrick, use Scald again!”

 

“Counter it with Shadow Ball!”

 

In the haze of the continuing hailstorm, neither Patrick nor Gengar could get a clear lock on where the other was. As a result their attacks sailed within inches of each other on their way to grazing their respective targets.

 

“This hailstorm has got to end soon…” Matt mumbled to himself. The weather effect laid out by Silver was indeed making it more difficult for him to strategize Patrick’s moves. “Just try another Scald for now!”

 

“If you’re going to have trouble hitting me, I’ll try my luck. Gengar, Metronome!”

 

Moving with great speed, Gengar pointed straight up with both hands and then waved his arms back and forth. A split second later, an orange aura surrounded him as rushed forward with his arms crossed, karate chopping Patrick in the stomach in an ‘X’ shape. Though this Cross Chop attack did knock the wind out of the Seismitoad, he was able to quickly recover and take advantage of his now-close proximity to his enemy to blast Gengar with hot water. The phantom tumbled through the air, groaning shrilly in pain.

 

Much to Matt’s delight, the hailstorm finally abated at that point. The entire virtual battlefield – much of it damaged by the vicious sparring it hosted – returned to full view, and the two panting Pokémon growled while sizing up what it would take to defeat each other.

 

“It’s time to put an end to this once and for all. Patrick, hit Gengar with one more Scald dead-on!”

 

“That’s what you think!” Silver shouted in response. “Gengar, Toxic! Now!”

 

Patrick opened his mouth in preparation to launch yet another Scald, but before he could get any water out, Gengar complicated things. Stretching his right arm out in Patrick’s direction, Gengar focused a swirl of poisonous sludge around it, ultimately using the arm as a guide to shoot the vile substance right into Patrick’s face.

 

The Seismitoad’s entire visage was covered by the sludge, throwing his Scald far off target. He completely panicked, desperately trying to wipe away the thick fluid that was already sapping his last bits of endurance.

 

“Patrick, is there anything I can…”

 

“There’s something I can do,” Silver interrupted. “End this fight. Gengar, Venoshock!”

 

Gengar stared upward and spread his arms, letting out a high-pitched cry. Four pools of similar purple sludge erupted around Patrick, and Gengar’s power caused each puddle to rise into the air in the shape of a lightning bolt. Suddenly, the four spears of poison converged on Patrick, shocking him from head to toe in brutal, agonizing pain.

 

“Venoshock is a special toxin that attacks the bodies of already poisoned targets,” Silver explained while he and Matt watched Patrick writhe desperately within Gengar’s assault. “Do what you must to win, with no rules or limits… that’s the way of the world and the way I battle. Your Seismitoad’s name is Patrick, right? Patrick, thank you for being a useful training partner.”

 

Silver snapped his fingers, making the Venoshock barrage finally cease. Almost instantaneously, Patrick crumbled to the ground in front of Gengar, unable to move even a centimeter more.

 

“Patrick, no…” Looking up with grief in his eyes, Matt yelled to Silver, “Call the rest of the battle off! I have to take Patrick for treatment now!”

 

“Don’t fucking choke now!” Nekou suddenly called out, startling the others. “It’s just regular damage, Patrick’s no worse hurt than he’d be from any normal fight! Silver’s just trying to psych you out!”

 

“Yeah!” Olivia piped up in support. “Don’t let him get inside your head!”

 

“Yeah, my head is mine…” Matt chuckled, shaking it to work out a cramp in his neck. Turning back to the battle, he held up the Dive Ball and recalled Patrick, saying, “Patrick, you fought courageously. I’ll get you to the Pokémon Center soon.”

 

“So what’s it going to be last?” demanded Silver. “It’s two against one now. Face it, my training here will end with my victory!”

 

“Not if my old friend has anything to say about it!” Matt countered, pulling a yellow-and-black Ultra Ball from his bag and throwing it. “Nikola, make your mark!”

 

As Matt’s last Pokémon took shape, its form became a rather unusual one: an orange refrigerator with a spike on top, cloaked in a blue plasma that formed a pair of lightning bolt-shaped ‘arms.’ On the refrigerator’s front, two white-and-blue eyes framed a small, smiling mouth.

 

“It had to be a Rotom, something I wasn’t prepared for?!” Silver exclaimed in surprise and disgust. “I see you’re not going to make that victory easy for me. Gengar, it’s time to go all out! Toxic!”

 

“Stop it with Thunderbolt, Nikola!”

 

Gengar raised his arm again and started to funnel sludge around it, but Nikola cut him off. The electric blast loosed by the Rotom cut right through Gengar’s Toxic and powerfully shocked him, making him stumble onto one knee.

 

“You’re not going to stop me! Not yet!” Silver swiftly pointed forward and roared in command, “Gengar, Shadow Ball!”

 

Trembling, the weakened Gengar extended his arm again, this time to draw dark energy out of the air in the shape of a sphere. He locked his eyes on the floating refrigerator Rotom and flicked his finger, sending the orb of shadow at its target; Nikola, however, made no effort to dodge, instead opting to take the hit and endure it. The Electric-and-Ice-type emerged nearly unscathed.

 

“Show that Gengar a Shadow Ball of your own, Nikola.” By this point, Matt’s confidence levels were rising. Barring any unforeseen turns, all Silver had left in reserve was a burned, injured Mamoswine, which would be far from enough to win him the day, a fact Matt was well aware of.

 

Obliging its trainer’s direction, Nikola focused the same dark energy as Gengar between its lightning bolt arms. The resulting Shadow Ball was smaller than Gengar’s but hit its mark perfectly, dropping the Ghost-and-Poison-type completely to his knees.

 

“It’s all or nothing now!!” Silver was beginning to completely lose his composure, which was something that was off-putting to Matt and the others, who were used to his normal cool, calm demeanor. In fact, he was acting with such intensity that it was almost frightening. “Put everything on the line for one last shot! Metronome!!”

 

Something in Silver’s fiery voice stirred Gengar, and the Pokémon stood back up. Wearily, he waved his arms once more, but this time, the result was something unusual – overcome by a surge of energy, Gengar held his arms out, allowing them to take on the shape of large scythes.

 

“That’s…” Matt gasped.

 

“Shit!” Nekou exclaimed.

 

“It’s Guillotine!” Bunny finished. “If this hits, it’s all over!”

 

Olivia, meanwhile, simply sat and stared, completely silent in her fascination with the turns the battle was taking. Dante still sat next to her, carefully observing every single movement both Matt and Silver made.

 

Leveling the blades that his arms had become, Gengar let out a bloodcurdling scream and leapt at Nikola. His intent plainly was to use his transformed arms like a pair of shears to critically injure and cripple Nikola all at once.

 

“Get out of the way and use Shadow Ball!” Matt cried out, almost reluctant to even look at the battle any further. He didn’t think Nikola would be able to move swiftly enough to avoid the brutal attack due to the heavy appliance serving as the Pokémon’s body.

 

Despite its bulk, however, Nikola managed to lift itself just enough to cause Gengar’s scythes to come together harmlessly right below it. In immediate retaliation, the Rotom dropped another Shadow Ball on its foe, slamming the screeching ghost into the ground.

 

“Not yet!” A slight growl worked its way into Silver’s speech as he saw Gengar trying to stand up, but even then, he was beginning to realize that the Ghost-and-Poison-type had been pushed to his limits. “Toxic!”

 

“I won’t let you!” Matt countered. “Nikola, drop a Thunderbolt and finish this!”

 

With his injuries impeding his movements, Gengar was barely able to lift his arm toward Nikola before the Rotom answered by striking him with an electric blast. This was what pushed Gengar over the edge, and he crumpled back onto the floor and became still.

 

Before anyone had a chance to speak, Silver swiftly and wordlessly sent Gengar back to his Poké Ball and released Mamoswine from her Great Ball again. Unlike earlier, her fur was matted and messy, and she labored for breath as a visible burn around her mouth took its toll.

 

“Get ready, Nikola! It’s time to end this!” Once he saw that Nikola was ready to make its move, Matt clenched his fist. “Knock it out once and for all using Blizzard!”

 

“Oh no you don’t! Mamoswine, use Superpower and aim for the rocks, then the trees!”

 

Just as Nikola sent a gust of freezing air and ice at Mamoswine from its plasma coat, the great giant cloaked herself in a red aura before charging forward.

 

The Blizzard missed, but Matt was more puzzled by why Mamoswine appeared to be charging at one of the virtual boulders making up the battlefield. “Keep attacking, Nikola! Keep up the pressure!”

 

Nikola released blast after blast of Blizzard, but they all fell short of hitting Mamoswine. The Pokémon, despite her huge body, was actually climbing into the air by using the rocks as platforms. Faster than Matt or the spectators could process it, Mamoswine was on top of the tallest tree.

 

“Now, Mamoswine! Do it!”

 

With Superpower still activated, Mamoswine made a valiant leap, aiming to crush Nikola with her weight. The Rotom froze, fearing the rapidly growing shadow covering it.

 

“Now’s your chance, Nikola! Finish with Blizzard!”

 

Matt’s direction gave Nikola the confidence it was lacking, and spurred it to overrun Mamoswine with a massive Blizzard. The concentrated storm packed so much force that it actually flung Mamoswine out of her path and crashed her to the floor.

 

Mamoswine did not stand up again.

 

“He did it!” Olivia exclaimed, her excitement boiling over. Quickly propping herself up on her crutches, she hobbled over to her and threw her arms around him, a sentiment he returned by setting his own hand on her shoulder.

 

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” Nekou smirked, and when combined with the light once again filling her glasses, she presented a face of obvious mischief. She and Bunny had followed Olivia to Matt. “Maybe I can get something out of this bargain after all.”

 

“What does that mean?” Matt asked in confusion.

 

“It… it means…” Flushing as she searched for words, Nekou finally settled on an excuse and said, “Now that pizza tonight can be for all of us! You know, to celebrate you winning today.”

 

Matt sighed. “Fine. You know, sometimes I wonder if this all wouldn’t make more sense if you actually were taking advantage of me outright.”

 

“Why don’t you join us, Silver?” Bunny called to the sullen young man, who was slowly making his way to the door after recalling Mamoswine.

 

“Idle time is time wasted,” he grumbled in response, slowing to a stop but not turning around. “My father is powerful and ruthless, both as a person and as a trainer. I will not rest until I defeat him and put him in his place. Matt Chiaki… I took the loss this time, but it was valuable training for when I ultimately confront him. You only concern yourself with growing stronger, so you will continue to give me the challenges I need for training.”

 

“Um… fine, I guess?” By that time, Silver was through the door and Matt was talking to the inner side of the portal. “How unusual.”

 

“That boy, Silver…” Dante spoke up, having remained silent for some time. “He appears to be skilled, but raw emotion dominates all his functions. If he learns to control that anger for his father, he could become a truly powerful Pokémon trainer.”

 

“Whatever,” Nekou sighed, “I don’t even want to worry about it anymore. I want to go relax.”

 

“For once, you’ve actually got a good idea,” Matt flatly said.

 

-:-

 

The sun was high in the sky as Silver exited the Trainer House, casting a warm light over much of Cherrygrove City. He silently filtered into the street and began walking to the Pokémon Center, but he was soon distracted by the sound of a telephone ring.

 

“Who’s calling me at a time like this?” he sneered, reaching into his pocket for a communication device. Colored blue with a white half- Poké Ball patterned on each side, the Pokégear continued to ring loudly in Silver’s hands until he flipped it open, revealing two screens inside. On the top screen was Looker, the thin-faced detective from the Kiss of Death case.

 

“Oh, it’s you,” Silver groaned. “What do you want?”

 

 _“Important information to pass on, yes. Still caught up at this location taking a look into and investigating the Clemens murder, but word comes back to me from the officers who are working elsewhere in the field.”_  


“Spit it out already.”

 

_“Activity that is suspicious is taking place in Azalea Town. People wearing suits colored black, like the darkness of the night. Gathering supplies of equipment for some purpose that is obviously nefarious!”_

 

“So Team Rocket finally resurfaces… Thanks, then.” Abruptly hanging up and putting the Pokégear away, Silver resumed his march to the Pokémon Center, but at double the speed.

 

“I’ll take out your worthless team one-by-one, I swear… and then I’m coming for you, father.”

 

-:-

 

That night, after the sun had gone down and the group retired to their room in the Pokémon Center, Matt made good on the so-called ‘promise,’ even if Nekou had entirely invented the idea. The long coffee table near the room’s television was covered by a combination of two pizza boxes and a myriad of beverages As was becoming familiar to Matt, Bunny and Olivia, Nekou’s unstoppable appetite earned her a pizza all her own, while the second was mainly divided up between Bunny and Olivia. Matt insisted on only taking two slices for himself.

 

“Aaaaaaaah!” Nekou gasped after taking a sip from the can of beer in her hand. “This is the life, you know? Pizza, some friends to share it with, and…” Nekou shook the can and glanced to the rest of the six-pack resting on the couch next to her before finishing,  “my old buddy with his five brothers to keep me company. It doesn’t get better than this.”

 

“It is nice to finally relax a little,” Bunny admitted. “The Pokémon look like they’re having fun, too.”

 

Bunny’s assessment was completely correct. They’d set out plates of Pokémon food on the floor, inviting Marie along with Nekou’s Gothorita, Murkrow, Duskull and Zorua to eat out of two of the plates, Marie taking one all to herself. Balin was eating out of a third plate, while Olivia’s Minccino, Roselia, Oshawott and Lillipup shared two others.

 

“They’re all so cute,” Olivia said, her voice devoid of its usual warm energy. “I wish I could sit with them, but this leg…”

 

“Don’t you worry, Olivia, you’ll recover soon,” Nekou assured the younger girl. “Once you do, the Pokémon will still be here for you to play with all you want. I don’t want to see you stressing out over anything, so let’s just enjoy the pizza, okay?”

 

Olivia nodded her head. “Yeah, good idea,” she whispered, smiling. “Thank you.”

 

Off to the side, Matt was eating his own pieces of pizza while reading a book, staying away from getting too involved in the peaceful, cheerful exchange the others were having. He looked up when he heard Olivia and Nekou talking, and found himself feeling comforted by the honest connection they seemed to share.

 

-:-

 

Just like the night before, Pierce walked into the dark, dank alley and snapped his fingers four times. The signal still worked, for almost immediately, the Tenganist woman emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley.

 

“You came back,” she muttered, sounding surprised in her words but not in her voice, which remained flat.

 

“I did,” Pierce affirmed, “because our shared goals are precious to us both. Have you made a decision?”

 

“I must go to the survivors living near Blackthorn City to fully confirm the arrangements, but I have made a decision. We accept the proposal of an alliance between our forces, with the condition that my people remain autonomous, free from taking orders from your leader.”

 

“That is something I can pull some strings to arrange. For now, I can furnish you with supplies and some explosives.”

 

“A fair deal,” the woman agreed while nestling her infant in her arms.

 

“I’ll be going back to my base to iron out the details, then. What’s your name, if I may ask? How should I refer to you to my superiors?”

 

“I am a woman with no name. It was stripped from me. Today I am merely the prophet that sustains the life of my people.”

 

“Your identity was stripped from you…” Pierce turned away as his voice became shaky. “Just like me, then. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to aid you in your battle against Ghetsis and Polaris.”

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 4**

 


	5. Reaching for the Arcade Star (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt has his battle with Arcade Star Dahlia, unaware of both Polaris and Team Rocket maneuvering in the shadows.

It should be noted that there’ll be some dark stuff discussed later in this chapter, such as a discussion of a genocide against a certain group of people. None of it is depicted though.

 

Hopefully you’ll still enjoy!

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 5:** Reaching for the Arcade Star (Part 2)

 

-:-

 

A blazing orange crept over the land as the sun rose the next morning, spreading peals of warm light over the autumn trees of the Tohjo Continent. Cherrygrove City glittered in the shine; for as depressing a place as the city could be, the first minutes of daylight brought even Cherrygrove’s dull streets to life.

 

Just outside the city, in the thicker woods off the road north, Jessie, James and Meowth stood speaking to Pierce.

 

“…that is what you need to know about what’s going on,” Pierce finished, running a hand through his shoulder-length, dark blue hair before putting his hat back on over it. He had just finished explaining a truncated version of his work from the past twenty-four hours. “I am going to return to the base to meet with Dr. Zager and Ariana regarding this. That means you three are in charge of maintaining the mission here in the field until I return.”

 

“But what are we supposed to do if things go bad? You were our extraction!”

 

“You know, James has got a point here,” Meowth concurred with his human companion. “Say we go after that chunk of space rock and Polaris shows up. Then what?”

 

With her hand on her hip, Jessie stepped up to face the others. “Do you two even hear yourselves? The boss didn’t put us on this mission for nothing. If we play our cards carefully we’re going to be just fine. We don’t have to have our hands held for everything we do!”

 

“You’re both right,” Pierce intervened. “I will return to aid you once more when my business at the base is finished. It will not be that long. For now, this is your assignment – continue monitoring the group involving Matt Chiaki, Olivia Mistbloom, Bunny Spruce and Dante Fantomos. The old man is in possession of the Meteonite fragment, so if you get a chance to take it with little risk, do it. If not, remember that a contingency plan is already uploaded into your R-Pad.”

 

“Ah, fine,” James said, gritting his teeth. “Make it back safely.”

 

“Very well. I wish you luck.”

 

Pierce turned and walked away, the tails of his coat fluttering behind him from the force of his sharp movements. Once he was far enough from the trio, Jessie let out an annoyed sigh.

 

“This is going to be a lot harder than it has to be if you don’t put some effort into it, James!” she yelled, straightening her back to give herself a height advantage over her partner.

 

“Oh, come on, Jessie, you know I’m not throwing it in that easily. I just don’t like taking orders from Pierce.”

 

“I agree with that,” Meowth chimed in. “The boss is the only one who’s worthy of giving us orders!”

 

“We’ll listen to Pierce but the boss is the one we really work hard for.”

 

Considering what her teammates had to say, Jessie realized they had a good point and backed down. “Finally, something we can all agree on. Let’s get a move on and see if we can track down that group in Cherrygrove!”

 

-:-

 

“So this is it, then…” Matt softly said while lifting the front of his hat, enabling himself to see further upward without raising his head.

 

Nestled in a cluster of tall buildings near Cherrygrove City’s shoreline stood a wide structure with four spires reaching up to the sky, each one ending in a diamond-patterned onion dome. The early afternoon sun glittered on the façade, casting a glare over the street where Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Dante all stood. Several red flags trimmed with gold borders hung around the building’s entrance, each bearing the stylized Poké Ball surrounded by seven stars that served as the Frontier Society’s logo.

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Bunny concurred, “this is it, the Battle Arcade.”

 

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

 

Nekou’s remark spurred Matt into action, and without another word he approached the double doors of the Battle Arcade, which slid open to allow him inside. Dante immediately followed, while Nekou at first hesitated. Once she saw that Bunny was helping Olivia walk, though, she also went through the entrance, with the injured girl and the archeologist bringing up the rear.

 

None of them noticed Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet – all disguised in their trenchcoats – slip in right behind them.

 

The lobby that awaited beyond the threshold was a dimly-lit place, with neon lights on the walls and ceiling largely substituting for normal sources of illumination. An orange carpet lined with golden diamonds stretched from the doors to a desk across the room, while nearby, a small cluster of tables framed by floor lamps offered other visitors a place of rest.

 

Not wishing to waste any time, Matt immediately and briskly walked to the desk, where a woman in a green business suit and beret was waiting.

 

“Welcome to the Battle Arcade!” the receptionist greeted him, using a warm voice. “Are you here for a challenge?” When Matt nodded, the woman continued, “You’re in luck. There are no challengers signed up ahead of you for the day, so you’ll be going right in. Is this your first visit to a Frontier Society facility?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“May I have your name?”

 

“Matt Chiaki. What is this about?

 

“Just give me a second to register you in our database…” Turning to the computer on her desk, the receptionist typed for a moment, then looked up again. “All done. Pretty quick, huh? You’ll be needing these two things...”

 

The woman pushed two objects into Matt’s hands. The first was an identification card bearing Matt’s name and picture, colored red and gold like the Frontier Society’s flag, while the other was a small box with seven indentations inside.

 

“Your Frontier Pass and Medal Box,” she explained. “The Frontier Pass will get you into the Frontier Society’s facilities and services, while the Medal Box is to store the awards you’ll get from defeating Frontier Brains. Speaking of which, are you ready to begin?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then the next thing I’m going to need are the three Pokémon you intend to enter. Please allow me to check them.”

 

“I’ll be going with my Aggron, Rotom and Seismitoad,” he answered as he stored the documents and handed over the Poké Ball, Ultra Ball and Dive Ball containing his chosen Pokémon.

 

Using a handheld scanner, the receptionist inspected the three spheres, downloading images of their respective Pokémon into her computer. She then returned them to their owner, saying, “Your entry is fully processed. Are you ready to go in?”

 

“I am,” Matt replied, placing the orbs into his bag. Before walking away, though, he turned around to the others, who had since arrived behind him. “You guys are going to the audience area, right?” he asked, gesturing to a doorway a short distance away marked ‘Audience Seating’ in neon letters.

 

“I guess so,” Nekou answered. She puffed up her cheeks and exaggerated her facial expression to act like she was frustrated at being told to go somewhere, even though she fully knew this was normal and to be expected. “Don’t fuck it up out there, or there’ll be hell to pay. I’ll see to that.”

 

“Somehow I’m not sure that’s actually encouraging,” Matt sighed, grimacing.

 

“Now, I think she has a point.” Surprisingly, it was Dante coming to Nekou’s defense. “Maybe she worded her encouragement poorly, but she is right in that you cannot progress if you are stuck here.”

 

“If you put it that way, I guess I understand. I wouldn’t want to hold up Olivia from reaching Violet City and getting her badge either. Anyway, wish me luck out there.”

 

“You can beat her,” Bunny gently said, setting her hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Just leave everything out here to me.”

 

“Thanks. See you guys later, then.”

 

With that, the group split in two. While Matt followed the receptionist into one of the nearby doors, the others went for the seating area. Bunny assisted Olivia in balancing on her crutches, while Nekou ate from a bag of potato chips she’d gotten from somewhere. Dante, finally, remained distant from the three young women, walking stiffly with his cane in one hand and the briefcase containing the Meteonite fragment in the other.

 

On the other side of the lobby, Jessie, James and Meowth waited, watching them. The trio of agents blended into the casino-like atmosphere of the Battle Arcade rather well in their trenchcoats, hats and sunglasses. Wobbuffet was with them, too, wearing a similar disguise of his own.

 

“There they go,” James observed while standing with his arms crossed. “How should we do this?”

 

“Attacking the old man in a public place like this would only go wrong for us,” commented Jessie. “I say we just go in there and watch what happens for now.”

 

Meowth gave a nod of approval, then added, “We got five pairs of eyes on that old man and the space rock. They ain’t going anywhere.”

 

Finding themselves all on the same page, the members of Team Rocket entered the audience area themselves.

 

-:-

 

The receptionist had led Matt down a long, narrow hallway before stopping abruptly near a closed green curtain. Because the hallway was just as dark as the lobby had been, Matt nearly crashed into her.

 

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

 

“Please, don’t worry about it. Now, you need to wait here for a moment.” The woman bowed slightly in a show of courtesy toward Matt.

 

“What? Why?”

 

Matt’s question was answered almost immediately, when the announcer’s voice came blaring through the curtains into the hallway, accompanied by an eruption of audience cheering. _“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Battle Arcade! A day full of high-energy battling is about to get underway!”_

 

Thunderous applause filtered through the curtain into the hallway, leading Matt to realize quickly exactly what he would be facing once he stepped through. Never feeling all that comfortable in front of a crowd in a closed setting, he started breathing deeply and pacing in an attempt to ward off the attack of nerves that he felt coming on.

 

_“I can tell you’re all fired up, so let’s move ahead and get started with the first show of the day! Coming in first is a challenger who is making his debut on our young Frontier Society circuit! Going for his first medal here at the Battle Arcade, please welcome Matt from Snowpoint City!”_

 

Matt found that all the attempts he’d made to tame his nerves amounted to nothing when the curtain in front of him whisked open, leaving him nearly completely locked up. Barely able to breathe, he shuffled out a short distance onto the black runway leading to the battlefield before nervously eyeing the audience.

 

Spotting Nekou, Bunny, Olivia and Dante sitting in the front row along with Marie and Olivia’s Minccino gave him a burst of energy, especially when he saw Olivia with her mind seemingly off her broken leg. Feeling revitalized, he picked up his pace and reached his box on the battlefield, where he stopped. A rotund man wearing a pair of dark sunglasses was already there, waiting in a space just off to the side of the field’s middle.  


Immediately upon his arrival, the tall, thin screen on Matt’s side of the arena illuminated to display icons of the three Pokémon he’d selected, Aggron, Rotom and Seismitoad.

 

 _“Our challenger is now set!”_ the announcer declared while Matt simply stood there, still feeling some nerves from the relatively small space and the crowd. The lights dimmed and multicolored disco lights started to flow around the stadium, leading the audience to cheer more loudly than ever. _“Yes, everyone, you know what that means! You know what time it is! Now, allow me to introduce once more the woman of the hour! The one you’ve all been waiting for! The one, the only… Arcade Star Dahlia!!”_

 

Simultaneously, the lights in the stadium came back up and the audience erupted in the loudest round of cheering yet. All of this was over the caped figure that appeared in a burst of confetti at the opposite end of the battlefield.

 

With fluid movements that almost made her body look as if it was made of water, Dahlia moved down her runway, waving to the crowd all the while. Once she reached her destination, she stopped and waved one last time before turning toward Matt. Her screen, meanwhile, displayed her Pokémon in the same order as the day before – Togekiss, Ludicolo and Zapdos.

 

“Welcome, challenger!” Dahlia cheerfully said in greeting, striking a sharp pose with her hand on her hip. “Welcome to my Battle Arcade! How are you feeling today? Lucky?”

 

“Let’s just say I’ll be feeling more lucky once we get this battle going,” he replied straightforwardly. This wasn’t a lie, as the anticipation of the battle was intimidating him more than the battle itself. Unfortunately, he was unable to mask it well.

 

“Are you nervous or just eager to get this show on the road? Either way, let’s give you exactly what it is you want!” A thin pedestal with a red button on it rose out of the floor in front of Matt, visibly startling him. Picking up on this, Dahlia spoke, “Surprised? What we’re gonna do before battling is test just how lucky you really are! Bring up the game board!”

 

On Dahlia’s cue, the central video screen displayed a grid of sixteen squares, arranged in four rows of four. Each space had a different symbol on it, apparently signifying something different in each box.

 

“This big game board will determine the conditions we battle under,” Dahlia explained. “Anything could come from it. You could trigger a rainstorm, or maybe some sunlight or relentless hail... we could battle in a Trick Room or with our Pokémon asleep… we could even trade teams before we battle! Truly, the possibilities are endless!” Having worked herself into a frenzy, Dahlia threw her arms into the air before finishing her speech. “Hit the button to stop the board, okay? Now… set it in motion! Let’s go!”

 

An orange frame lit up around the upper-left corner space on the grid and began cycling past each of the board’s sixteen squares. Overwhelmed by the sudden pressure he felt from the correct realization that the outcome of this could decide the battle before it even started, Matt tried to push aside thoughts of the crowd and focus in on the game board.

 

From his quick inspections, he picked out the weather effect tiles, plus the Trick Room space that he’d seen Nando battling under the previous day. He also concluded that a tile with two opposite arrows was the aforementioned team-trading space, and that a lightning bolt space would inflict paralysis on his Pokémon. Running through some ideas in his head, he devised a quick plan and zeroed in on the space he wanted.

 

“Now!” he shouted, slamming down on the button.

 

 _“The battle condition has been decided!”_ blared the announcer. _“This battle will be conducted under a steady rainfall!”_  
  
Crystal generators similar to those in the Trainer House glowed to life in a ring around the ceiling of the stadium, and mere moments later, clouds gathered and rain started to fall over the battlefield. The space the frame had stopped on – a tile displaying a water drop – now filled the entire central screen.

 

“So it’s rain, huh? Once again, the board delivers a turn on the road of life... luck is not just what twists and turns that road throws at us, but also how we deal with them and thus make our own luck. Is that something you’re good at?”

 

“I get the feeling you’re going to answer for me,” Matt deadpanned in response. “The answer is how this battle turns out, isn’t it?”

 

“You’re pretty smart. Since you know how things are going to go here, let’s waste not a single moment more!” Tearing off her cape and throwing it aside, an action that revealed her familiar outfit from the day before, Dahlia posed dramatically, yelling, “Show me your luck! No, show me if you can conquer it and make luck your own!!”

 

“If that’s what you want me to do...” Matt took out his Poké Ball, but hesitated slightly because of the crowd cheering once again. “…I…I’ll show you what you want! Tony, make your mark!”

 

“Dance, Togekiss!” Dahlia immediately called back, rolling a Poké Ball of her own down her outstretched arm before popping it open.

 

Materializing on Matt’s side of the field, Tony straightened to his full height and roared, then locked eyes with the Togekiss that emerged from Dahlia’s Poké Ball. The Normal-and-Flying-type Togekiss showed no fear in her eyes, even as she was confronted by the mighty Aggron.

 

“The battle between the challenger, Matt, and the Arcade Star, Dahlia, will now begin!” The referee raised his arm upward before bringing it down in a chopping motion. “Go!”  
  
“Tony, start strong!” Matt exclaimed, stretching out his arm to point at Togekiss. “Head Smash, now!”

 

Undeterred by the echoing roar Tony sent ringing through the Battle Arcade’s stadium prior to his charge, Dahlia shook herself in another of her fluid dance moves as she directed, “Togekiss, move aside and use Water Pulse.”

 

Well before Tony could collide with her, Togekiss glided off to the side of the field, leaving the Aggron to hit nothing but thin air. She then began to spin, forming an upright circle with the tips of her wings. This circle soon became physical upon being traced in a stream of water from Togekiss’s wings, and it flowed straight into Tony, pushing the growling Steel-and-Rock-type back. The attack was strengthened in intensity by the rainfall, which added water to the ring to increase its size.

 

While Tony nursed the burn-like wound that the Water Pulse had left on his hide, Matt was left to reassess his opponent in a silent panic. Dahlia’s overwhelming confidence could be seen in footage of her battles, but he realized that seeing was only one part of it. Standing across a battlefield from Dahlia was another thing entirely, as her spirit burned powerfully enough to almost be physically felt. Looking at her standing there with her hand on her hip and her gaze fixed on the Pokémon, Matt very quickly found himself feeling in over his head.

 

“Togekiss, use Water Pulse again!”

 

Snapping back to attention, Matt saw the second ring of water flying toward Tony and immediately blurted out, “Dodge it!”

 

If the Battle Arcade was a facility of luck, Matt wasn’t having much of it, as even though Tony bent back in an attempt to let the Water Pulse sail over him, it still caught the edge of his steel horns and pulled him back until he fell over completely.

 

_“Aggron goes down, but it’s not out yet! Will Matt be able to turn this around somehow, or will the Arcade Star take the lead in a decisive motion?”_

 

“He’s embarrassing himself out there,” Nekou said monotonously, resting her head on one hand in a fit of exaggerated boredom as she took a handful of chips from her bag with the other. “Dahlia’s making a fool out of him… he can’t touch her in the least.”

 

“It’s only just started,” commented Bunny, “so don’t give up yet.”

 

“If I was giving up I would have left already.”

 

“Come on, Matt, pull yourself together!”

 

Olivia’s plea managed to restore some of Matt’s confidence, but before he could even calculate a new approach, Dahlia was on the attack again.

 

“Togekiss, get ready to finish this!” she shrilled while her Pokémon took up a position right over Tony. “Water Pulse, straight down!”

 

“I see it!” An idea suddenly came to Matt, and he wasted no time in putting it into motion. “Tony, Head Smash! If Togekiss is aiming down, you aim up!”

 

Because of her spinning, Togekiss did not see Tony using his tail as a spring to throw himself into the air toward her. It was this blind spot that allowed Tony to finally land a hit, headbutting Togekiss hard enough to cause her half-formed Water Pulse to explode, throwing both Pokémon in opposite directions – Tony fell downward and crashed into the ground, while Togekiss flew back violently and somersaulted through the air.

 

“So you’ve got some fight in you, huh?” A light giggle escaped Dahlia’s lips while she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. “Looks like I’m going to have to step up my game a little. Togekiss, use Psychic on the rain!”

 

“Head Smash once more!” Matt reflexively answered, not realizing what Dahlia was doing even when individual drops of rain began getting caught in the purple light of Togekiss’s power.

 

Tony charged, but soon found his movement impeded by something weighing down his left leg. Both he and his trainer realized in horror what it was all too late – a cluster of raindrops had been forcefully congealed around that limb, rendering it useless. Before Matt could figure out any way out of this trap, and before Tony could lash the surprisingly heavy water off of himself, Togekiss used Psychic to pin down his other leg and both arms before completely encasing him in a tight cocoon of water.

 

“Like that one?” Dahlia casually said to Matt, who simply stood there stunned by his Aggron’s ordeal. “That’s actually one of my favorite Contest moves. I see you look surprised… did you actually think I’d leave _everything_ up to luck? Like I said, the best kind of luck is the kind you make for yourself. This Battle Arcade and everything inside it is my home, and in here, everything happens according to my luck. You’re clearly relying on something different… chance. Chance is when you throw all caution to the wind and let things happen as they will… now let me show you what the true meaning of luck is. Togekiss, the grand finale!” Throwing her arms wide, Dahlia called out into the air, “Water Pulse!!”

 

Flying to just above where Tony was bound in place, Togekiss started spinning again, drawing water upward from the trapped Aggron. The two Pokémon became surrounded by the same fluctuating stream of water, but a brief moment later, a bright glow radiated from Togekiss’s half of the fluid structure, and the entire thing exploded in a spectacular and violent burst of shining water and wind.

 

Matt had to shield his face from the surf-like spray thrown on him as well as the harsh gust, which hurt his eye. The sustained force of the blast Togekiss trigged blew his hair and coat for several seconds; meanwhile, Dahlia was facing the same conditions, but she simply stood there as if none of it fazed her, her wild black hair flying in all directions.

 

Finally, the force radiating from the center of the stage abated, revealing the almost painfully obvious results – a winded but otherwise fairly healthy Togekiss flapping her wings cheerfully over the prone form of her defeated Steel-and-Rock-type opponent.

 

The referee raised his arm toward Dahlia and announced, “Aggron is unable to battle! The winner is Togekiss!”

 

_“Down goes Aggron, marking the fall of a dangerous enemy for Dahlia’s Togekiss! With only Rotom and Seismitoad left, is it already too late for Matt?”_

 

Even from the stands, Bunny could see that the question posed by the announcer was evidently already on Matt’s mind. She watched him silently call Tony back to his Poké Ball, recognizing the same sudden soullessness she’d seen on her archeological projects with him when something went terribly wrong.

 

“Is he going to be okay?”

 

Snapping out of her bubble, Bunny turned to see Olivia pulling on Nekou’s arm. What truly surprised her wasn’t the fact that Olivia was turning to Nekou for alleviation of her doubts, as she’d already recognized how the two seemed to connect. It was instead how deadly serious Nekou seemed to be treating the whole matter.

 

“You don’t worry, Olivia,” the dark-haired woman reassured. “Even if he can’t come through for himself, he’ll do it for you. The amount of strength one can gain just by knowing their actions mean something to someone else is unbelievable.”

 

“Right.” Olivia nodded, smiled weakly, then turned back to the battle and screamed out as loud as she could, “Come on, you! Don’t you let me down!!”

 

His face blank, Matt slowly turned to the stands, completely oblivious to the rest of the crowd cheering for Dahlia’s decisive actions. He saw Olivia, and with something in his mind clicking, he shook his head and snapped back to attention.

 

 _“There you go,”_ Nekou thought with a smile. _“I knew you wouldn’t fuck up when it came to helping her out.”_

 

“Got yourself together yet?” Dahlia called out across the battlefield. “Togekiss and I want to see which of your Pokémon we’re up against next!”

 

“I know exactly what I’m doing now,” Matt replied after a brief hesitation. Readying the Ultra Ball in his hand, he yelled as he threw it, “Nikola, make your mark!”

 

 _“Matt calls upon his Frost Forme Rotom as his second Pokémon!”_ exclaimed the announcer, putting words to the image of Nikola taking shape in the stadium.

 

“Ah, now that’s something I don’t see every day! I’m pleasantly surprised at you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy. Togekiss, start this off with a bang! Hyper Beam!”

 

“Block it with Thunderbolt!”

 

Acting swiftly, Togekiss hummed serenely while charging up energy in the form of a red sphere in front of her face. Nikola took aim and fired a horizontal bolt of lightning just in time to intercept the pulsating beam that burst from Togekiss’s mouth. It failed to stop the Hyper Beam completely, but Thunderbolt did serve some function, as the beam was split up and only a fraction of it struck its target.

 

“Rotom, tom,” Nikola said, shaking off the weaker but still forceful blow it had received. A dark patch on its midsection was one of the few signs left of the hit.

 

Togekiss, meanwhile, did not escape scot-free either. Having expended much of her energy to create and fire the Hyper Beam, she could now only float before Dahlia, breathing heavily as she waited for her strength to return.

 

“Dahlia, do you remember what you said earlier about luck, chance and this Battle Arcade?”

 

“Yeah?” Dahlia inquisitively answered, scrunching her face. “What about it?”

 

“I think two people can have the same luck. Chance has given me a shot of demonstrating that. Nikola, use Blizzard up into the clouds!”

 

Both Dahlia and the collective audience gasped in surprise at Matt’s improvised strategy. Almost immediately upon Nikola beginning to shoot gusts of frosty wind up into the rainclouds, the rain itself changed temporarily into hail. The icy stones crashed loudly against the battlefield, but Dahlia was paying that no heed. Instead, she was staring at and gesturing frantically to her Togekiss while attempting to give it commands. As she was caught in the sudden storm, Togekiss could only suffer under repeated strikes until she gave in and fell to the ground.

 

 _“Dahlia’s Togekiss goes down,”_ declared the commentator, over a deafening roar from the crowd, _“but is it out? We know how the Arcade Star is in situations like this!”_

 

“That’s right, when your luck runs out, you improvise… that’s what you just did, isn’t it?” As Dahlia spoke, the rain returned, blocking out the false Hail.

 

“You talked about this Battle Arcade being a place where you control all the luck in the facility as your own. Well, I think it’s time I took some of that luck myself. Nikola, finish it off with Thunderbolt!”

 

A single jagged bolt of lightning flashed out from Nikola’s plasma body, which had turned from blue to yellow as static built up in it. Pinned to the ground by chunks of ice, Togekiss could not escape from this counterattack. She was left helpless to avoid being struck down, and her body went limp after the initial shock of Thunderbolt wore off.

 

“Togekiss is unable to battle! The winner is Rotom!”

 

_“Score one for the challenger in a decisive blow! We’re now even, with one Pokémon down on each side! Now, let’s see what the Arcade Star’s next course of action is!”_

 

“See, I told you he’d pull through for you,” Nekou said to Olivia.

 

“You were right, but let’s see if he can actually win this battle completely.”

 

While Nekou and Olivia were exchanging comments on Matt, Bunny happened to glance over to her other side. She spotted Dante sitting rigidly in the next seat, staring intently at the battle as if he was intending to memorize every single detail of it. At first disturbed by this, she quickly brushed it off and decided to pay it no mind.

 

“You did very well, my dear Togekiss,” Dahlia whispered to the Poké Ball she’d recalled her beloved Pokémon to. “I think I underestimated you, Matt.”

 

“Don’t be so sure. How can you say that I didn’t just get lucky?”

 

“Luck only goes so far. I’ve got a knack for telling when I’m up against someone who can give me a challenge, and right now, whether you realize it or not, I’m getting that feeling. Now let’s see what you can really do. Dance, Ludicolo!”

 

Dahlia threw her Net Ball next, which released the green, pineapple-shaped Pokémon within. Ludicolo began dancing cheerfully almost immediately, taking great pleasure in the rain.

 

“A Water-and-Grass-type,” Matt observed, trying to carefully examine Ludicolo to the best of his ability. He was however unable to glean much from simply seeing it standing and dancing, and he didn’t have that much available to him as a result of seeing Nando fight her, so he decided to use a straightforward approach. “Let’s just attack and see what happens, Nikola. Signal Beam, go!”

 

A bright light flashed out of the spike on the top of Nikola’s refrigerator body, followed by a rainbow-colored beam of energy. Ludicolo, seeing the ray approaching her, stopped dancing and stood still.

 

“Now, Ludicolo! Drain Punch!”

 

In the blink of an eye, Ludicolo disappeared into thin air, visibly astounding both Matt and Nikola. Just as quickly, however, she materialized again right in front of the floating Electric-and-Ice-type, with just enough space to pull her arm back and deliver a powerful, glowing punch that slammed Nikola downward.

 

_“Fueled by Swift Swim, Dahlia’s Ludicolo lands a devastating blow! Let’s see how the challenger manages to deal with this development… or will he even be able to?”_

 

“That’s right, do you like it?” Dahlia asked of her surprised, stunned opponent. “Rain is perfect for my Ludicolo and her Swift Swim ability. Will you be able to keep up with our speed, or are you already left in the dust?”

 

 _“There’s got to be a way out of this,”_ Matt thought, even going as far as shutting his eyes to try to focus. _“Come on, think of something!”_

 

“What’s the matter, Ludicolo got your tongue?” Dahlia was clearly taunting Matt, trying to goad him into attacking while continuing to stand with her hands on her hips. “Let me loosen it up then. Energy Ball!”

 

This time opting to not use Swift Swim to get close, Ludicolo remained in her position and instead threw a sparking sphere of green energy at Nikola.

 

Matt snapped his eyes open and he pushed both of his arms forward. “Get away if you can, Nikola! After that, use Signal Beam!”

 

There was barely enough time for Nikola to get out of the way of Energy Ball after recovering from the bruising injury Drain Punch dealt out, but it managed to do so. Afterward, it aimed another Signal Beam down at the aggressive Ludicolo, hoping as hard as it could that this time, the attack would not fail.

 

“How troublesome,” Dahlia uttered, rolling her head back slightly so she’d have to look downward at an angle to see Matt. “Ludicolo, move in and go for Hyper Voice!”

 

Falling back into her original tactic, Ludicolo evaded Signal Beam by evaporating into the driving rain, then warping into the space right in front of Nikola. This time, though, she retaliated against her foe by screaming in a loud voice, forming circular shockwaves that visibly rattled Matt’s Pokémon.

 

 _“That’s it!”_ Thinking carefully, Matt recalled something he’d seen during Nando’s battle the previous day – namely, how Exploud’s Hyper Voice could be fused with other moves to create intensely powerful techniques useful for both Contests and standard battling. Framing this within some of the things he’d observed about Ludicolo’s patterns, he knew he had a solid idea toward stopping her. “Nikola, Signal Beam one more time, please.”

 

 “You’ll go nowhere with that old trick! Ludicolo, Drain Punch!”

 

Though its Signal Beam once again missed as a result of Ludicolo’s Swift Swim speed fueling her escape, Nikola had her right where Matt wanted.

 

Grinning ever so slightly, he called out, “Thunderbolt! Just release it into the air!”

 

Snickering, Nikola quickly shot a lightning bolt in a random direction and sustained the charge for several seconds. The electricity caught onto the raindrops at an exponential rate, and soon, the entire field was flooded by electrical energy.

 

Within the depths of the storm, the lightning even caught up to Ludicolo, who was shocked out of midair during her Swift Swim-powered rush. Feeling increasingly frustrated at how difficult this fight was becoming, Dahlia pushed her hands through her hair.

 

“Fine! If you want things to go this way, be my guest! If we can’t get up close, we’ll go from a distance! Ludicolo, Energy Ball!”

 

“Give me another skyward Blizzard!” Matt raised his arm and pointed upward for emphasis after

giving this command.

 

Nikola ignored Ludicolo even as she was giving shape to her next Energy Ball, instead opting to focus on blowing another gust of cold air into the clouds overhead. Dahlia’s Pokémon barely managed to launch her attack before chunks of ice rained down on her in much the same way as Togekiss. While Ludicolo crumpled under the harsh blows leveled out by the falling ice, Nikola had left itself open and winced when the glowing sphere struck it in the face.

 

“Try Signal Beam one more time, Nikola!”

 

“I see what you’re doing, and you won’t get away with it! Ludicolo, Hyper Voice!”

 

Dahlia was so absorbed in the battle that she failed to notice Matt smile slightly when she gave the go-ahead for Hyper Voice. Both trainers just watched as Ludicolo avoided Signal Beam by merely stepping back before screaming and forming a sonic energy ring heading back in Nikola’s direction.

 

“Now that’s what I was waiting for!” Matt exclaimed, running his hands down the sides of his face before pointing forward. “Go, Nikola! Thunderbolt!”

 

Nikola shocked the wave manifested by Ludicolo’s Hyper Voice, and the circular wave itself became electrified, thus spreading lightning through the air. Dahlia gasped when she realized that she could not direct Ludicolo to move or attack because of how thickly occupied by electricity the space was, a sentiment visibly shared by Ludicolo. The Water-and-Grass-type Pokémon muttered nervously and adjusted her sombrero while waiting for the air to clear.

 

Matt, however, had other plans. “Shadow Ball!”

 

Aiming right for the center of the electrical field, Nikola dropped in an energy sphere of its own, this one glowing with black light. The Shadow Ball reacted with all of the lightning, causing a bright, sparkling explosion that blinded all everyone and everything within the arena.

 

As soon as his vision started to return by even a small bit, Matt shouted, “Now, Nikola! Go through and finish this with Signal Beam!”

 

Dahlia’s Ludicolo recovered from the shock of Matt’s previous combination move in just enough time to see Nikola lunging through the lingering smoke, a Signal Beam taking shape on the spike atop its head. Mentally, she wanted to jump away, but the results of several harsh hits had left her body in an unresponsive state. Swift Swim couldn’t save her, so she had to simply wait for the inevitable to come as the rainbow-colored beam struck her down.

 

“Ludicolo is unable to battle!” the referee called before the eyes of the enthralled audience. “The winner is Rotom!”

 

_“Ludicolo goes down as Rotom racks up a second consecutive win! The Arcade Star now only has one Pokémon left, but the outcome is far from certain. Will she fall in defeat at our challenger’s hands, or will she rally to overcome this disadvantage?!”_

 

“Nikola, good job! That was exactly what I needed!” Though Matt’s praise of his Rotom was expressed in a confident-sounding voice, Matt was anything but confident at that point.

 

Nekou, Bunny and Olivia all shared the same doubts he had, as they all knew that the biggest problem was about to happen. Without one move being made it was already realized that the next Pokémon would be easily a more grueling challenge than Togekiss and Ludicolo.

 

“You made me proud out there, Ludicolo. There’s nothing more I need from you.” Returning the Net Ball to her belt, Dahlia kept her hand at her waist while turning a suddenly fiery glare at Matt. “As for you, I’ve gone easy on you until this point. Do you understand what that means? That means you must step up your efforts even further if you think you’re going to win this, because now I’m going to get serious.” Tearing the Master Ball from her belt, Dahlia threw it and shrilled the words Matt knew he’d have to face even though he didn’t want to, “Show yourself on the dance floor, Zapdos!!”

 

Erupting from the Master Ball in a spectacular flash of light, Zapdos slowly unfolded its jagged-edged wings and looked down on Nikola. It wasn’t just a matter of positioning – Zapdos clearly held itself in much higher esteem than the allegedly lesser Electric-and-Ice-type Pokémon before its eyes.

 

_“Yes, it’s what you’ve been waiting for! Arcade Star Dahlia’s Zapdos has entered the battle! Hold on to your seats, because now you know we’re in for a ride!”_

 

“They’re in for a ride?” Matt quietly growled through his gritted teeth, attempting to grasp the sheer magnitude of the task before him. “How about the ride _I’m_ in for?”

 

“I see you talking to yourself over there, so how’s about I give you something to talk about?!” Seemingly as soon as she sent Zapdos into the intense battle, Dahlia became a different person. Her stance became stiffer, and her movements went from being fluid to sharp and abrupt. Thrusting both of her arms forward, she cried, “Zapdos, Heat Wave!”

 

“Not good…” Desperate to avoid being defeated by the intimidating Legendary Pokémon, Matt chose the first decision that jumped into his head. “Quickly, Nikola, use Blizzard!”

 

Instead of aiming for the clouds this time, Nikola simply locked straight ahead to target Zapdos directly. Its gust of freezing air was met by the tide of fire that Zapdos had pushed forth, however, and Heat Wave won out. With its attack nullified completely, Nikola was left trapped to weather a painfully effective blow.

 

“Finish it off now, Zapdos! Give it a Drill Peck right to the chest!”

 

At this point completely overwhelmed by the stunning power and speed he was up against, Matt flinched and couldn’t manage to give a command. Nikola acted on its own, shooting a Thunderbolt at Zapdos as the Electric-and-Flying-type barreled toward it, but Zapdos shrugged the last-ditch counterattack off with little effect before viciously colliding with Nikola.

 

“N-Nikola!” Matt screamed out, though it was completely in vain.

 

“Rotom is unable to battle! The winner is Zapdos!”

 

_“Down goes Rotom! He never had a chance to touch Zapdos! Now, the challenger only has one Pokémon left as well!”_

 

Not content to simply defeat the Rotom, Zapdos pinned its victim under one of its talons while cawing loudly, all to show off its dominance over the battlefield.

 

“Now that’s just overkill,” Bunny reacted with disgust.

 

“You should have expected something like this,” Nekou said with a hint of sarcasm. “You can tell she isn’t the type to be subtle about anything. This is her stage, and when she’s on it, she’s going to absolutely play it to the fucking hilt.”

 

“Come on, don’t you blow this now!” Olivia called out with her hands cupped around her mouth. “If Nando could do it, so can you!”

 

“So it comes down to this…” Having recalled Nikola, Matt stood rigidly in a way that caused his eye to be obscured by the shadow of his hat’s brim. “I’ve got to pin all my hopes on this last one after all… out of these three, he’s my newest Pokémon, but I’m not going to just let this go…” Whipping his head up, he sharply added, “I’m not letting this go because those who run cannot find the truth! Patrick, make your mark!!”

 

In a blindingly fast motion Matt got the Dive Ball out of his bag and threw it with a flick of his wrist, releasing the bulky-bodied Seismitoad within to face Dahlia’s savage Zapdos. Patrick slowly turned his lazy-looking eyes upward to face Zapdos directly, who by this time was staring back with a look of sheer annoyance.

 

_“It’s the final showdown, folks! Everything’s on the line! Matt’s Seismitoad versus Dahlia’s Zapdos… only one will walk away from this with the spoils of victory, but who will it be?!”_

 

“A Water-and-Ground-type Pokémon?” Dahlia uttered while standing with her hands on her hips. “What a bother, Zapdos’s electrical attacks won’t work… but that just means this will be all the more fun! Get started with Drill Peck, Zapdos!”

 

As soon as Zapdos started spinning in Patrick’s direction, Matt growled to himself and shouted, “Stop it with Scald!”  
  
The rainfall lent Patrick’s Scald some additional power, turning it into an almost beam-like blast of burning water instead of just a spray. Zapdos didn’t care about this power upgrade, though; it simply twisted around the boiling jet in midair to avoid being hit, then drilled straight into Patrick’s stomach, throwing him back as he croaked painfully.

 

“Patrick, no...” Matt whispered in shock, while he watched Patrick slump against a nearby wall.

 

“Is it too much?” taunted Dahlia, leaning forward while waving her right hand’s pointer finger in the air. “Tell me when you’ve had enough. I’ll stop whenever…”

 

Suddenly, a loud, guttural voice echoed through the stadium, interrupting Dahlia mid-sentence. Patrick, now standing again, raised both of his arms and let out an earsplitting battle cry before lunging at the grounded Zapdos.

 

Taking advantage of this turn, Matt directed, “Hit it with Drain Punch!”

 

As it did not suspect Patrick to be capable of striking so quickly, Zapdos was caught off guard and took a forceful blow squarely to the chest. The wound left behind quickly transformed into light that flowed into Patrick, restoring some of his stamina.

 

“Hit my Zapdos in such a way? I think not! Zapdos, take to the air and use Ominous Wind!”

 

Just as Zapdos began to lift itself into the air, Patrick jumped up and swung out with his hand, managing to grab onto the Electric-and-Flying-type’s leg. The feeling of Patrick’s weight immediately caused Zapdos to panic, and it forced itself upward in a frenzied attempt to get free.

 

“Good thinking, Patrick!” Matt called out in compliment, a wide smile coming across his face. “It has nowhere to run, so use Scald!”

 

 

“Toss that thing now!” Dahlia tore back in response.

 

Despite Zapdos’s valiant efforts to flip Patrick over its head, the Seismitoad managed to pull it back. While still holding on to keep Zapdos in place, Patrick assaulted it with another jet of steaming water, this one connecting straight to the Legendary Pokémon’s chin.

 

Zapdos finally lashed free of Patrick’s grip after taking the Scald directly, but it wasn’t yet out of trouble. This was evidenced by the sudden shudder that wracked its body as a red aura overtook it.

 

_“That’s a burn, the secondary effect of Scald! Zapdos is on the clock now!”_

 

In her mind, Dahlia saw her range of options narrowing. For a moment she squinted and stared at the two Pokémon, then she threw her hands up in the air and screamed to the ceiling, “Zapdos, ascend!”

 

While still visibly suffering from the burn’s effects, Zapdos managed to follow its trainer’s directions by moving upward until it was just skimming the underside of the clouds. At that point, it started to glide around in wide circles over the battlefield.

 

“If that’s what you’re going to do, then I have little choice in how to answer.” Pointing upward at the avian Pokémon, Matt sharply instructed, “Patrick, aim as best as you can and use Scald!”

 

Another jet of heated water shot into the air, but Zapdos evaded this one by twisting around and flying above the clouds. In frustration, Patrick blindly spat out yet another Scald with no orders, missing Zapdos by a figurative mile.

 

“Zapdos, it’s time for us to take the lead!” Compared to her earlier difficulties, Dahlia appeared to be getting her hyper, cheerful edge back. “Ominous Wind!”

 

Dahlia’s Zapdos dipped just below the cloud cover before forcefully flapping its wings, pushing a gust of glowing purple wind over Patrick. The Water-and-Ground-type Pokémon crossed his arms to act as a sort of defense, and to a degree, it did work. Aside from small cuts spreading over a number of places on his body, Patrick wasn’t hurt much at all, prompting Dahlia to clench her teeth.

 

Adding to her frustration, Dahlia could see Zapdos still being afflicted by the red aura of the burn left earlier. She realized that if she continued to approach the battle with a casual pace, she’d lose, not because of Patrick knocking Zapdos out but because of the burn simply wearing Zapdos out.

 

Knowing that she was in a situation worse than she’d initially thought, Dahlia took charge by quickly and directly ordering, “Drill Peck!”

 

“Patrick, hit it right in the face with Drain Punch!” Matt reflexively said to counter Dahlia. As he did so, he repositioned himself so that he was standing with his legs somewhat further apart while leaning forward very slightly.

 

Even when Zapdos hadn’t yet dove to strike, Patrick was getting ready to hit back. He clenched his fist and pulled back, but unlike before, this time a strange purple glow surrounded his arm. Though he did swing and connect with Zapdos’s face as the Legendary Pokémon drilled toward him, Patrick failed to affect it in any significant way, being thrown back forcefully but not nearly as hard as before. Zapdos, meanwhile, flipped back and returned to circling the battlefield from near the clouds.

 

“Looks like you don’t have complete luck yet after all,” Dahlia commented in a much more serious tone than the one in which she usually spoke. “Far too late for that to come into play.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Matt skeptically asked, noting to himself that engaging Dahlia in a discussion would afford Patrick a chance to rest momentarily.

 

“Did you see that purple glow? Your Seismitoad’s ability must be Poison Touch, which means that that Drain Punch would have poisoned Zapdos if it wasn’t already burned. Unfortunate for you, isn’t it?”

 

 _“But fortunate for me,”_ she quickly thought as an amendment to her original sentence. _“I’m in enough trouble trying to win with Zapdos being burned…”_

 

“It’s good to know that, but at this point, it doesn’t matter.” Turning his head upward so he could see Zapdos circling, Matt spread his arms and called out, “Patrick, cut it down with another Scald!”

 

“Get away!” Dahlia countered, gesturing in a sweeping motion. “Drill Peck into the clouds!”

 

Matt had been hoping for a decisive blow to end the fight, but those hopes disappeared when Patrick’s boiling water stream sailed just below Zapdos’s talons as it spun upward and out of sight. For his part, Matt clenched his fists and stared and the spot where Zapdos had been mere moments before, but Patrick became even angrier. Ignoring the fact that he could not aim at all, Patrick began randomly shooting blasts of steaming water up into the clouds, each one apparently missing Zapdos by a wide margin.

 

However, after only two rounds of these blind attempts, Patrick suddenly started gasping when he tried to use Scald again, no longer able to draw upon its power.

 

“Patrick, what’s wrong?” Matt desperately shouted, having become alarmed by the rapidly escalating appearance of frustration and panic on his Seismitoad’s part.

 

Sighing in relief, Dahlia wiped her forehead, which had become damp with sweat, and said, “I almost was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to last this long to let Pressure work!”

 

“Pressure…” With his breath becoming slower and shallower, Matt took a slow, shaky step back. “Zapdos’s ability… I never even took it into account…”

 

“Since you know what it’s called, then you must at least have an idea of what it does. You’ll run out of steam for your moves one by one at double the rate! That means, since you can’t use Scald anymore, you can’t hurt Zapdos!”

 

Dahlia’s claims not only affected Matt – who became visibly more tense as he tried to grapple with the meaning of his situation – but the spectators in the stands as well. Panicked, Olivia hurriedly turned to Nekou and Bunny in a bid to gain better understanding of what was going on.

 

“Is that actually true?! It can’t be over like that!”

 

“Nothing in this world is that simple,” Nekou explained in a seemingly flippant manner, not really paying much attention to her own words. “It’s something you’d benefit from remembering. When something seems like it has an obvious answer or outcome… it usually doesn’t.”

 

“It’s true that of Seismitoad’s remaining moves, one won’t work at all and the other would only cause slight damage,” Bunny added. “But, Zapdos isn’t exactly in great shape either. If it can’t stay out of Seismitoad’s reach, this could still turn around.”

 

“Now, Zapdos,” Dahlia called out to her airborne Pokémon, “use Ominous Wind!”

 

With seemingly no options available to him, Patrick simply crossed his arms in front of his face as a feeble defense against the glowing purple wind sent blowing down onto him. He wasn’t moved far by it, though.

 

Zapdos dropped out of the cloud cover, and its ravaged, weakened body and uneven breathing made clear that the burn’s effect was doing what Matt’s attacks were failing to do. Dahlia looked up with wide eyes at her Pokémon, trying to accept the reality brought on by the red glow consuming it and what this light meant.

 

“Zapdos… you’re not going to last much longer, are you?” Already knowing the answer to this question, Dahlia turned her head back down and stared at Matt. Her gaze was intense enough to make him uncomfortable; to him, her eyes were like two spears piercing into his own. “Fine!” she boomed, pointing her finger at him. “Matt Chiaki, you’ve put on a good show for us here today, so as a sign of respect, I will show you my special finishing move! Zapdos, use Heat Wave! Follow it with Drill Peck! Then, finish this with Thunderbolt!”

 

“Impossible,” Nekou said in disbelief. “What is she even trying to do? Heat Wave will barely affect him, and Thunderbolt…”

 

“She’s just trying to use the attack’s impact strength!” Bunny exclaimed, having arrived abruptly at the answer. “After all of this talk about luck, it’s come down to brute force!”

 

By this point, Zapdos had already used Heat Wave to create a curtain of fire in the air, and it was now using Drill Peck to spin through said curtain and gather its energy. During all of this, Matt and Patrick could only sit and watch.

 

“Get ready, Patrick.”

 

The Seismitoad grunted and nodded to his trainer in affirmation. They both knew that what Dahlia was planning was likely to spell the end for them, but one thing both Matt and Patrick had resolved to was to go down fighting.

 

“It ends NOW!” Dahlia screamed out, her excitement and energy finally boiling completely over. Flinging her arms up into the air before bringing them sharply back down, she roared, “Zapdos, GO!!”

 

All of the remaining fire in the air convened around Zapdos as it twisted around and began shooting electricity from all over its body. Locking onto Patrick, Zapdos started to descend rapidly, taking on the form and power of a spinning rocket powered by the dual forces of fire and electricity.

 

_“This is it! Dahlia’s final move! Is this truly going to be the end?!”_

 

“Now, Patrick!” Matt shut his eyes as he held up his arm. He did not want to see what was about to happen. “Hit it head-on with Drain Punch!”

 

Showing more courage than his trainer, Patrick fearlessly faced the raging inferno that bore down on him. He didn’t expect to inflict much harm either, but he intended to come out having done something to help. With perfect timing, he swung his fist just perfectly to connect with Zapdos’s beak.

 

Zapdos’s frenzied attack was the one that won out, easily overwhelming Patrick. His Drain Punch, however, caused the Drill Peck/Heat Wave/Thunderbolt combination to go off target, and it instead mowed the Seismitoad down at his feet and pushed him down onto the Legendary Pokémon’s back.

 

A combination of Zapdos’s pained, frustrated squawks and the explosion of noise from the audience forced Matt to open his eyes and see what was going on – Zapdos flittering around the arena in a panic, trying to get Patrick off of its back.

 

 _“Now I’ve seen fucking everything…”_ he thought, unable to form words for a minute due to the sheer shock of what had happened and what he’d seen.

 

“WHAT?!!” Dahlia was rapidly approaching a point where if she became any more high-strung, she might scratch her own skin off. Her voice was thin and high-pitched, and her once-tanned-and-smooth skin had become clammy with sweat. “How could you not only survive my finishing move, but even turn it against me?”

 

“I guess it just boiled down to pure luck,” Matt said with a quick shrug.

 

Taken aback by how simple the entire thing actually was, Dahlia grunted and abruptly turned upward, staring straight at Zapdos as it glided around in the air with Patrick holding onto its back. “Throw that thing off! Drill Peck!”

 

“Patrick, keep your grip by any…” When he saw that Zapdos did not even have enough strength left in its burn-ravaged body to even use Drill Peck, Matt cut off his direction. He realized that the only thing remaining was to finally put an end to the battle once and for all. “Patrick, hit Zapdos square in the back with Drain Punch.”

 

While struggling to keep his hold on the Legendary Pokémon using only his left hand, Patrick raised up his right hand in a clenched fist. After holding it back for a short time to channel strength into it, he brought it down on the center of Zapdos’s back with great force.

 

Ordinarily, a Fighting-type move would do little against a Flying-type like Zapdos. However, because of the significant weakness left in Zapdos’s body by the burn plus Patrick’s precise aim, the expectation held by most of the spectators was defied. Zapdos plummeted from the sky and crashed into the floor with such speed that Patrick actually didn’t start falling until a split second later, allowing Matt the time to quickly plan his final move.

 

“Now, Patrick come down right on top of it with Earthquake!”

 

Before the stunned eyes of Dahlia along with Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and the rest of the crowd, Patrick clasped his hands together and flipped forward, delivering a devastating double punch to Zapdos’s body in a spot not far from where he’d just hit moments earlier. A seismic shockwave erupted from the impact, forcing Matt, Dahlia and the referee to brace themselves.

 

Though his body was violently shuddering, with every muscle wanting to give out, Patrick stood triumphant when he emerged from the final exchange. Zapdos lay nearby, sprawled out and crushed into a hole in the battlefield.

 

“Zapdos is unable to battle! The winner is Seismitoad, and the victor is Matt of Snowpoint City!”

 

 _“I don’t believe it!”_ exclaimed the announcer, though he was barely audible over the cheering erupting from the crowd. _“What a show! At the end of this no-holds-barred clash of titans at the Battle Arcade, the challenger comes out on top, defeating Arcade Star Dahlia!!”_

 

“Patrick, thank you!” Matt rushed forward when he saw Patrick, who was trying to walk to him, start to collapse. He managed to catch his Pokémon in his arms, and in response, Patrick weakly croaked and smiled in exhausted contentment. “Patrick, don’t worry anymore, you can rest now. That was amazing for one of your first battles with me.”

 

Dahlia, meanwhile, held up her Master Ball, bringing Zapdos back within it. “Another good show, my friend,” she said to it, putting the ball back on her belt. “Two losses in a row, but you can be blamed for neither. That’s just how the wheel spins and how the dice roll.”

 

Great amounts of chatter had already broken out amongst the audience members about what they had just witnessed. In the back of the seating area, lurking out of the active areas but having watched all along, Jessie, James and Meowth took advantage of this activity to cover their own actions with Wobbuffet standing alongside them.

 

“That’s that, then,” Jessie sighed, looking back down to the battlefield. “He could be a valuable ally to the cause if we play our cards right, don’t you think?”

 

“Right, Jessie, but what’s with all the people we’ve run into lately? Our hands were tied like a Tangrowth because that old man was strong, and obviously we can’t make Matt mad at us. You can see why.”

 

“That don’t really matter one way or the other in the end,” Meowth interjected. “The boss has got someone working on working him over. We ain’t got nothing to worry about with him. What still gets me, though, is what we’re gonna be doing to fix our little mess with the Meteonite piece.”

 

“We’ll lay low,” suggested James. “Come on, let’s leave. This certainly isn’t the place to have this talk.”

 

“Wobbuffet!” the blue Psychic-type Pokémon cheerfully shouted, waddling after his trainer and her friends as they left the arena.

 

-:-

 

“That was great! I loved it!”

 

Though she could not hug Matt as he came back out into the Battle Arcade’s lobby like she wanted, Olivia still greeted him with as much enthusiasm as she could muster from her crutches. Beside her stood Nekou, Bunny and Dante, all of whom were smiling, even the elderly doctor.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint my fans,” Matt chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “It looks like you’re feeling lively again, Olivia. That’s good.”

 

“Watching you battle helped me remember what I want to do,” the girl explained. “I know I can do it. You inspired me to keep trying to make my dream come true!”

 

Briefly hesitating when he was forced to consider just what Olivia’s dream was, Matt slowly turned to the others. “And what did you three think?”

 

“Even I have to admit when you do something right.” Nekou spoke with a huff in her voice, but in reality, she was simply trying to annoy Matt by being sarcastic. “The tactics you used were actually kind of impressive.”

 

“Especially how you defeated Zapdos,” Bunny quickly chimed in.

 

“In that battle, the Pokémon and their trainers worked together very well, which brought out the best of their abilities.” The others turned their heads in Dante’s direction while he continued musing, “My theory is that it came down to who could improvise better, and Matt, you flying blind that whole time may just have saved you. Dahlia had all her strategies planned out so well in advance that when you made things up, it put her out of her comfort zone.”

 

“What are you saying about me, old man?!”

 

When Dahlia came bounding out of the arena doorway, speaking playfully and far too loudly for the situation, she made the group of four jump in surprise. In fact, Matt almost landed right in Nekou’s arms because of how far he stumbled.

 

“What?” Even Dante, as calculating as he was, couldn’t completely process Dahlia’s sudden arrival.

 

“Oh, relax, I’m just playing with you. You’re not too far from the truth, really…” Turning to Matt, who had managed to compose himself, Dahlia continued, “Matt, your ability to go in with a rough framework of a plan and retool it on the fly is something that will serve you well going forward, but do realize that the rest of the Frontier Brains are tougher than me.”

 

“Sure, that sounds like a good thing…” he said in sarcastic response.

 

“Relax, you’ll be fine. So what will you do now?”

 

“Well…” Matt hesitated as he spoke; he was unsure if discussing the subject was a good idea. Ultimately deciding that explaining his motives could prove helpful, he said, “I’m looking to find Reshiram, actually. I want to see the truths its fire burns to reveal.”

 

“Well, you sure picked a hell of a region to do it in! That’s Unova, not Johto!” Matt and Bunny could only stare with stunned expressions at Dahlia, as her airy, casual tone completely mismatched against how serious he was being. “Sorry, though, in all seriousness, I don’t really know anything about that. You might want to talk to the Factory Head, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Factory in Goldenrod City, though. He’s more into the details of legends than I am.”

 

“Goldenrod City,” Bunny repeated. “That’s pretty far from here.”

 

“I guess we’ll be waiting a while, then…” The dejected tone in Matt’s voice could not be missed. His disappointment at losing a potential lead came right out to the surface.

 

“The Factory Head knows a lot of things, that’s why he got put in charge of a facility specializing in knowledge itself. Anyway, check this out. It’s what you earned by defeating me.” Reaching into a pocket inside her shirt, Dahlia withdrew a golden coin and flipped it to Matt, who caught it with his right hand. Printed on it was an image of one of the Battle Arcade’s onion domes. “It’s the medal for winning here at my Battle Arcade. With it, you can go on the Frontier Society’s website and get an additional prize.”

 

“Thanks, I’ll have to remember to do that. Thank you for the great battle, too.”

 

“Think nothing of it. Anyway, I gotta get back in there to see some more challengers, so I’ll see you around. Good luck out there!”

 

“Bye!” Olivia called out to Dahlia, who had turned and begun swaggering back to the arena.

 

“She is… certainly someone I’m not going to forget meeting anytime soon,” Bunny sighed.

 

“Mister Chiaki?”

 

An unfamiliar voice coming from behind prompted Matt to turn around. Standing there, clutching a black briefcase and gasping for air, was a well-groomed man in a brown suit.

 

“Yeah, that’s me, Matt Chiaki. Who are you?”

 

“Sorry, please forgive me. I’m just glad I managed to catch up with you.” Straightening up, the man smoothed out his suit and straightened his yellow tie, giving himself a much more professional look. He offered his hand to Matt, saying, “That was rude of me. Please allow me to introduce myself. The name’s Dominic.”

 

“Well met, then.” Seeing no reason to turn down the courtesy Dominic was showing him, Matt took the man’s hand for a firm handshake.

 

“That’s quite the handshake,” Dominic immediately pointed out. Noticing the confused looks that greeted this rather odd proclamation, he hurried to explain, “I’m a salesman for the Angel Corporation, you see, so in my line of work a good handshake goes a long way. Anyway, I hope I’m not intruding too much, but when I saw you here, Mr. Chiaki, I had to give approaching and asking you a shot.”

 

“Ask me what?” Matt found himself less bothered by Dominic’s presence than his seeming inability to actually get to the point. Nekou was standing just behind him and giving Dominic an exaggerated death stare, but Matt was completely unaware of this.

 

“Will you be going to Violet City?”

 

“Wait, that’s it?” The sheer simplicity of the question caught Matt completely off guard, and he did not have an answer ready.

 

“Of course!” Olivia immediately cut in. “That’s where my first Gym is!”

 

“But why would you want to know?” A hint of suspicion flavored Nekou’s inquiry. Harboring a dislike for not knowing what was happening, she felt uncomfortably on edge.

 

“I said I was a salesman, well, I’m actually a traveling salesman. I’m asking about Violet City because my son and two daughters are attending Earl’s Pokémon Academy there for a while, and after seeing you battle, I’d really appreciate it if you could meet them.”

 

“I don’t think I see any reason why I should say no,” Matt answered with a shrug. “It’s not out of the way…”

 

“Good choice, I wanted to go!” In a complete departure from her previous feelings, Nekou now loudly supported the proposal. “A school would have one of my favorite things in it!”

 

“I swear,” Matt sighed, “if you say free food…”

 

“No, that’s number two.” Ignoring the look of exasperation plastered on Matt’s face, she continued, “I’m talking about books, the one thing that goes well with absolutely anything. I’ll read as much as I want there.”

 

“And you never know,” Bunny added, “we could find a clue about Reshiram there.”

 

“Good point. What about you, Olivia? What do you think?”

 

“I say we go. I could warm up for the Gym there.”

 

Turning back to Dominic, Matt shrugged again and said, “There you have it, we’ll go.”

 

“Thank you, Mr. Chiaki, thank you very much!” Seizing up Matt’s hand once more, Dominic smiled broadly as he spoke. “I’m sure my kids will appreciate meeting you very much. Now, please excuse me. I’ll have to be taking my leave now so I can get back to them.”

 

-:-

 

Pierce barely had a chance to step through the door of Dr. Zager’s run-down laboratory before the doctor was upon him. Even though the scientist was visibly angry, Pierce managed to remain completely stone-faced.

 

“Is it correct to assume that you received my report, Dr. Zager?”

 

“Oh, I received it, Pierce, and I’m not very happy with what I saw in it!” Zager threw his hands up in the air in frustration and walked a few steps away from Pierce before quickly returning. “You cannot simply spill Team Rocket’s plans to people you run into on the street!” he hissed through teeth masked by his mustache. “Any of them could be members of Polaris! All it takes is one slip up for us all to be destroyed!”

 

“I just ask that you pass on the information I supplied to Giovanni,” Pierce flatly said. “I am confident that he will judge what I did as correct.”

 

“And what if you’re wrong?”

 

“You boys ought to stop fighting,” Ariana suggested, walking up to Zager’s computer console. She was playful at first but quickly turned serious. “I’ve already passed the information on.”

 

“And I have already received it.”

 

The stern, powerful voice of the man on the screen brought both Zager and Pierce into line nearly instantly. Both the younger agent and the older scientist dropped down onto one knee and set their right hands over their hearts while Ariana stood by.

 

“Hail Giovanni!” both declared in unison.

 

“Dispense with the formalities,” Giovanni ordered, waving his hand to dismiss their actions. Before speaking further, the Team Rocket leader adjusted the lapel of his suit – a black article with red pinstripes – and pushed up his blood-red necktie. “Pierce, you have had interactions with a representative of the Tenganist people?”

 

“That is correct, sir,” Pierce rigidly replied. “She informed me that their surviving numbers are planning to rebel against Polaris, so I marshaled her into an agreement, the details of which you can see in my report.”

 

“Yes, we arm them and in return they will cooperate with our efforts to destroy Polaris. I see it here.”

 

“With all due respect, sir,” Zager interrupted, “this plan is very risky. We do not know if the Tenganists have been infiltrated by Polaris in the first place.”

 

“Dr. Zager, this goes far deeper than simple alliances. There has been a systematic campaign to eradicate the Tenganist people going on in secret. Many of their settlements have been destroyed, Michina Town being the first we know of, and the chief suspect we’ve identified as being behind this genocide is Ghetsis Harmonia. His hatred of the Tenganists is a poorly kept secret that Team Rocket’s intelligence forces picked up in Unova.”

 

“And as Ghetsis is now the public spokesman of Polaris in the Tohjo Continent,” Pierce continued, using Giovanni’s line of thought, “there is an obvious connection between the cleansing of the Tenganist people and Polaris. Also…” Pierce’s face darkened, and his normally forceful voice became much weaker. “My sister and I had our mother taken from us by Ghetsis and Polaris. Yes, I am one of them.”

 

“Stacia is as well, Dr. Zager.”

 

Under the intense eyes of Giovanni, Pierce and Ariana, Zager slowly stepped back and leaned against the nearby lab table. “This is getting worse and worse… fine. I agree to the plan to arm the Tenganists, but I want the supplies I send to be carefully observed.”

 

“I will take the responsibility of escorting the shipment of goods to their designated point,” Pierce volunteered without hesitation. “They are my people, even if I am not as devout as them.”

 

“I’m going out, too,” Ariana announced, stepping forward with her hand on her hip.

 

“I can’t say I think that’s a good idea. I recommend you stay here, Ariana.”

 

Sighing at Zager, Ariana shot back, “And because that’s one dumb-ass suggestion, I’m going to ignore it. You’ve got agents in the field who could be in way over their heads right now.”

 

“You’re both wrong,” Giovanni intervened. “Jessie, James and Meowth failed me more times than I can remember. But, they have proven their worth through their actions during our operations in Unova. They are some of Team Rocket’s top operatives and I have full confidence in their ability to get the mission done. That said, however, I do not object to dispatching an Executive to assist them. Ariana, do what you must to accomplish the mission.”

 

“You got it, boss!”

 

-:-

 

Sitting in his ornate, finely-furnished office, Giovanni pressed a key on the videophone device on his desk to close the call to Dr. Zager’s laboratory. Just then, the sound of his door creaking open caught his attention.

 

A young woman, bearing back-length purple hair and cold green eyes framed by glasses, carefully worked her way into the room, holding a cup of coffee on a saucer. She slowly and deliberately walked forward toward Giovanni’s desk, taking great care not to let her shaky hands spill the coffee on the red-and-purple material of her military-style dress. Eventually managing to reach her boss safely, she set the cup down before him.

 

“Mister Giovanni… the coffee you asked for…”

 

“Thank you, Stacia,” he answered, showing a rare moment of gratitude before slipping back into the dour mood that was already consuming him.

 

As his loyal secretary and someone who would willingly kill or die for him at the drop of a hat, however, Stacia knew more than enough to be able to read Giovanni’s face without a struggle. “Is something wrong, sir?”

 

Giovanni did not reply at first. Instead, he turned his chair around, giving himself a view through the huge window positioned behind his desk. His faithful Pokémon, Persian, walked up to his side and meowed, so Giovanni scratched the large, cream-colored cat under the chin, prompting him to purr contentedly.

 

“Stacia, when did we end up as the ones who must hold up the world? Polaris cannot be allowed to continue with what they are planning. A world ruled by the warped beliefs of Polaris can never move forward, and that would destroy Team Rocket as well.”

 

-:-

 

Once again, Ghetsis was standing outside the electronic prison in which he had placed Concordia and Anthea, listening to their findings.

 

“We have only translated one passage fully so far, Lord Ghetsis,” Concordia explained, detached from the situation despite the high chance of Ghetsis going into an explosive rage over it.

 

“It speaks of the two heroes in Unova legend, the White Hero of Truth and Black Hero of Ideals. We have not found anything more yet, only that this legend is involved.”

 

“I’m keeping you two alive and this is what you repay me with?!!” Of course, Ghetsis actually did end up exploding. Slamming his cane into the ground over and over, he fumed, “I won’t be able to keep ahead of those small-minded, imperfect fools on the Sacred Helix at this rate! I must! I am a perfect being, the perfect ruler for a world that shall be shaped into perfection!”

 

 _“Lord Ghetsis, come in,”_ a voice coming from a device in Ghetsis’s ear said. _“This is Shadow Triad leader Darkness.”_

 

“Report!” Ghetsis snapped.

 

_“We have extensively searched Ecruteak City and Route 36 for your son and the Tenganist prophet. No results. What are your orders, my lord?”_

 

Ghetsis closed his eyes and stood still, trying to calm his mind so he could process the information being supplied to him. Concordia and Anthea sat by and watched through the translucent walls of their prison as several tense seconds slowly passed by.

 

“Split up,” Ghetsis spoke once he finally reopened his eyes. “Darkness, you and Pestilence go to the west, toward Goldenrod City. Send Chaos off to the east, in the direction of Violet City and Cherrygrove City. Find those two freaks no matter the cost!”

 

_“Your orders are our command!”_

 

Taking his hand off his ear, Ghetsis slowly pivoted on his cane to face the two women in his cage, who were watching him with empty stares. “Prepare to bear witness to the rise of the man born to rule this broken planet! It’s been so many long years in the making…”

 

As he walked toward the room’s exit, Ghetsis began laughing to himself, smug in the confidence he held in his plans.

 

-:-

 

That night, the group was once again staying in the Pokémon Center’s hotel. Matt decided to go to sleep earlier than Olivia and Bunny, who were watching television together in the lobby, while Nekou was nowhere to be seen. After bidding them good night, he headed for the room the four of them were staying in.

 

As he entered the room, he reached for the wall next to the door, looking for the light switch he needed to trip to illuminate the darkness. The one thing he didn’t expect, though, was to have his hand held down on the switch by the hand of someone that was already there.

 

“Aah! Who’s there?!”

 

Whoever was attacking Matt pinned him against the door, which they slammed shut with their leg. Now blind in the dark room, he thought of defending himself but lacked the willpower to do so.

 

“Marie, turn on the lamp.”

 

“Snea!”

 

Nekou’s Sneasel turned on the lamp sitting on the nearby table, allowing Matt enough light to see that his so-called assailant was really nobody more than Nekou herself. Sighing, he tried to push her away, but she only released his left arm, the one that had been reaching for the light switch in the first place.

 

“I’m not in the mood for this. Let me go to bed.”

 

“What’s Olivia doing?” There was a strange intensity in Nekou’s eyes as she asked this question, one that showed she wasn’t joking around as Matt thought she was.

 

“You can go out there and see for yourself.”

 

“Answer the question.”

 

Matt sighed once again. “Fine. She’s out there watching a Pokémon Baccer game with Bunny.”

 

“Alright.” With that, Nekou released Matt and started to walk away, but before long she turned right back to him. “You did really well at the Battle Arcade today.”

 

“I just did what a lot of others have done,” he answered in a bland voice.

 

“Don’t sell yourself short. Olivia really looks up to you, more than you seem like you even know.”

 

“You two really have hit it off, haven’t you? You haven’t even known each other for very long.” The uncharacteristic seriousness of Nekou’s attitude was beginning to make Matt feel uncomfortable. By this point he was trying to find a way to get out of the conversation.

 

“Olivia and I do get along very well, that’s right,” she concurred. “From what she’s told me, she really likes you, even if she doesn’t outwardly show it.”

 

“Get to the point, please.”

 

“She needs you more than ever right now,” Nekou explained, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to alleviate the tension from what she was saying. “You have to tell her the truth about what happened to Rich before she goes too far down the rabbit hole to be saved.”

 

“How can I do something like that?” This was the last thing Matt wanted to talk about. Feeling crushed both physically and mentally, he began to just simply talk without thinking. “I can’t break her like that, I just can’t. It’s my job to make sure she keeps going. How can trash like me even think to…”

 

He suddenly stopped when he felt Nekou put her hand on his cheek. She was staring right at him, but while her usual sarcastic tone returned, something about what she said still sounded strangely sincere.

 

“Trash? Fuck no, stop tearing yourself down like that. We’re all… I mean, Olivia and I are relying on you, and do you know why that is? Because we trust you.”

 

“Thanks, I, uh… guess.” It took a moment but something in what Nekou said caught in Matt’s mind as odd. “Wait, why are you relying on me too? For what?”

 

“That’s not important. Just promise me you’ll tell Olivia the truth.”

 

Matt found Nekou’s argument oddly compelling, and after some thought, he decided to go along with it. “Fine, after Olivia wins her first Badge, I’ll tell her what happened. I want to wait until then so she’ll have something to be confident in.”

 

“Now that’s the Matt I knew was in there.” Nekou moved over to the bed she was sleeping in and reached into the rumpled sheets, pulling out two cans of beer; she tossed one to Matt then opened the other. “That’s for you. Let’s celebrate a little, alright?”

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 5**

 

 


	6. Transcending Humanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polaris’s banker, the figure known only as Finansielle, calls in an expert on Pokemon strength to aid in the creation of a new strain of Pokerus. On Route 30, Olivia once again encounters Renzo, only to be led into a battle with a surprising outcome. Later, the group meets Nikolai, who possesses the power of Transcendence like the Tenganists do, and then the strange scientist Mr. Pokemon. However, many unforeseen enemies lurk, watching…

There’s going to be some violent content in this chapter. Nothing too intense, but I’d rather be more cautious than I have to be instead of not cautious enough. Also, language.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 6:** Transcending Humanity

 

-:-

 

Matt and Nekou had spent a small amount of time talking over the beer she shared with him the previous night. Somehow, it was actually a worthwhile discussion – they spoke of Olivia’s well-being for a while, then started talking about books they liked. The alcohol took its toll on Matt, though, and he soon felt tired. It was not long after that that he simply fell asleep.

 

On the upside, though, he slept well and felt completely reinvigorated the next day. As he had finished eating well before the others had even all gotten up, he separated from them and left the Pokémon Center to await them at the gateway to Route 30. The bright morning sun cast golden light over the flowing grass stretching out beyond the borders of Cherrygrove City; it also warmed the earthy red leaves of the autumn trees surrounding the route.

 

He had a wait of about forty minutes before Nekou arrived with Olivia, Bunny and Dante in tow. Even when he knew they were behind him, however, he did not immediately turn around.

 

“Matt, I think you better see this…” Judging from her voice, something had clearly disturbed Bunny.

 

“What happened?” he wondered, taking his time to turn around.

 

The answer didn’t come immediately to him. He glanced over the four of them; the flamboyant young woman, his conservatively-dressed friend and her outlandish counterpart, and the elderly scientist wearing a brown coat and holding a briefcase in his hand. All of them merely stood before Matt and stared back as he tried to figure out what was wrong.

 

It didn’t take long for the truth to hit him like a speeding truck.

 

Olivia was standing there like the others.

 

“Olivia, your leg!” Matt exclaimed, adjusting his glasses in disbelief. “How are you standing there like that without your crutches?”

 

“I guess it just got better during the night,” Olivia answered with a shrug. “It was feeling a little better yesterday, and when I got up this morning, I could walk again.”

 

“It is atypical for someone to recover from an injury that quickly,” Dante stated. He hesitated briefly before adding, “But I’m sure you already knew that. The Pokémon Center nurse and I took her cast off before we came out here. I’m not sure why she recovered so quickly, but I’m sure there must be a reason.”

 

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I say. Maybe she wasn’t injured as badly as we all thought. What do you think of that?”

 

Olivia smiled when Nekou patted her on the head, and in response to the question Nekou posed, she said, “You might be right, I guess. I’m not concerned about it.”

 

Though he wanted to accept Olivia’s decision, second thoughts clouded Matt’s mind. He stood still, unable to rid himself of a lingering concern that something just couldn’t possibly be right about Olivia’s miraculous recovery. To force it out of his head, he finally turned back around to face what he had been looking at.

 

“And I’ve got something to show you,” he declared, spreading his arms wide. “Take a look at this!”

 

Sitting just off the road, a robotic vehicle the size of a large truck greeted the eyes of Matt’s companions. Sleek in both its aerodynamic shape and primarily black coloration, it cut the figure of something out of a science fiction movie.

 

Nekou drew in a stunned breath, clearly impressed by what she was seeing. “That’s... you built this?”

 

“That is not the same one you had when we worked together years ago,” Bunny swiftly pointed out. “What happened to the old one?”

 

“For those of you who don’t already know,” Matt answered, “this is the HR-E second version, or HR-E 2 for short. The original HR-E was destroyed five years ago when its electronics got fried by an EMP and then it got blown up.”

 

“What… what is it, exactly?”

 

Matt nodded to acknowledge Dante’s question, as he clearly recognized the confusion present in the old man’s mind. “To put it simply, it’s a mobile home and a laboratory at the same time. I designed the original version using everything my robotics teacher taught me so I could use it to travel around and do field research. For this new version, I simply streamlined the old plans for the original. So what do you think? It can serve as a place to stay if we ever need such a thing, and I can call it to me no matter where we are!”

 

“I’m in.” As she responded almost instantly upon Matt finishing, Olivia was the first to get in her thoughts. “The old one that my dad, my mom and I stayed in was great, and the new build is even better.”

 

“I’ve got to agree,” Bunny concurred. “I don’t mind fieldwork, obviously, but if I have somewhere comfortable to sleep, I’ll take it.”

 

“I _have_ to,” Dante added with a quick cough. “These old bones aren’t getting any younger.”

 

“We’re all on the same page then.” Smiling, Matt pointed directly down the road. “Route 30 awaits us, and beyond that Violet City, so let’s get going.”

 

-:-

 

At that same time, somewhere far away, Finansielle was meeting with Jeunes and Getriebe. The video screen displaying her armor-covered shoulders, head and face was so outsized that it allowed her to lord over the sterile, metallic laboratory where the two male Polaris members were.

 

“The correct solution is just eluding us, Finansielle,” Getriebe explained in a bored-sounding, monotonous voice. “We haven’t been able to find the genetic key that will make the Pokérus take the form we want.”

 

“But everything else is going exactly according to plan,” Jeunes made sure to hastily add, all while pushing up his Mewtwo mask to push up the glasses held underneath. “The gathering of battle data has gone smoothly. We’re tracking the Meteonite right now, and we have several teams ready to go to secure it, which I intend to personally lead. Getting back to the Pokérus for a moment, though, we have managed to find the way to trigger a transformation in its genetic makeup. We just don’t know how to get it to mutate into what we want yet.”

 

“I’m rather disappointed that I put so much investment into your research only for the most important answer to remain elusive.” Finansielle’s stinging criticism of their work prompted Getriebe – who was younger and wearing a helix-patterned suit along with his Electivire-themed helmet and mask – to shift his weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other. “It’s not that we don’t have a use for you any longer, though. Jeunes, what you should be doing is overseeing the collection of the Meteonite.”

 

“It will get done, I swear it. The final stage of our search is not far off.”

 

“Good. And Getriebe, your role is to continue gathering the battle data necessary for when we have the modified Pokérus and the equipment to harness it ready.”

 

“Of course, Finansielle,” Getriebe said while leaning forward into a seemingly forced bow. “My Purine Base serves that exact purpose…”

 

“Very well. I’m confident you’ll have good news for us all at the next meeting of the Sacred Helix. As for me, I am currently heading to the Adenosine Base. I’m calling in an expert on Pokémon strength to analyze the existing research and help fill in the missing gaps. He’s arriving there via helicopter sometime soon and I’m on my way to greet him. We’re now one step closer to our promised world…”

 

-:-

 

“Drowzee, use Pound!”

 

Further up the lightly wooded road of Route 30, Renzo and his Drowzee were engaged in a battle against a wild Pokémon while three younger children watched from the sidelines. The Pokémon – a fluffy, round, white ball of cotton – used a pair of green leaf-like appendages to flutter out of Drowzee’s grasp, making it hard for the Psychic-type to land a hit.

 

After escaping several times, the Pokémon flicked her arms to toss several sharp-edged leaves as a counterattack. Much to Renzo’s annoyance, Drowzee was too slow to escape from the wild Pokémon’s Razor Leaf, leaving his body riddled with cuts. Behind his mouth-obscuring scarf, Renzo clenched his teeth.

 

“I will not fail to capture you, Cottonee! Drowzee, take a ranged approach this time. Psycho Cut!”

 

Jumping back, Drowzee quickly slashed the air in front of himself using his right arm, flinging a purple-hued blade of psychic energy directly into his opponent. The Cottonee crumpled beneath the crushing force Drowzee’s Psycho Cut carried, the wide gash across her face still faintly glowing from the residue of what created it.

 

“You’re mine now! Go, Poké Ball!”

 

Renzo pulled a red-and-white sphere from the inner part of his tattered poncho and threw it at the Pokémon he’d just finished fighting. The Poké Ball cracked open upon hitting Cottonee’s body, allowing its inner technology to convert the Pokémon into energy before pulling her in. It then sealed up and fell to the ground, where before the eyes of Renzo and his Psychic-type, it rocked and shuddered.

 

 _“Come on...”_ the ragged trainer thought to himself. _“I can’t afford any more Poké Balls…”_

 

He didn’t need to worry, however, as almost immediately after he finished that thought, the Poké Ball became still and gave off a pinging sound, indicating a successful capture. Renzo’s attitude quickly changed; he excitedly ran over to where the Poké Ball lay on the ground and picked it up, while the more lethargic Drowzee simply ambled up alongside his trainer.

 

“Wow, great job!” called one of the children, a bright-eyed girl whose brown hair hung in a side-tied ponytail.

 

“Yes, thank you…” Renzo replied, before cracking the Poké Ball in his hand open once more. The Cottonee, her body visibly bruised in several places, materialized from its confines and almost immediately shrank back upon seeing Renzo and his Drowzee. “Now, now, you don’t have to be afraid, Cottonee. We’re not going to hurt you. Please, forgive us for doing what we had to.”

 

Lowering himself so he wound not appear as intimidating to the small Pokémon, Renzo extended a hand and waited as Cottonee nervously examined it. It took a bit of time, but Renzo’s newly-caught Pokémon did eventually decide that the situation was safe, at which point she hopped up into his hand and allowed him to hold her.

 

“There you go,” he said in an attempt to further comfort her, “nothing to be afraid of.”

 

“Mister Renzo, outsiders!” one of the two male children suddenly cried.

 

“Hmph. I would wager that I can guess who.” Slowly turning around, Renzo came to face Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Dante, who had arrived in the pass just after Cottonee was captured. His guess having evidently been right, he sighed and said, “So the usurper and her followers return, with a new addition, no less. Listen, I will not be persuaded away from my goals, no matter how large your group becomes!”

 

“We’re not interested in you,” Matt attempted to argue while adjusting his glasses in exasperation. “We just want to go to Violet City.”

 

“That Pokémon in your arms,” Olivia observed, pointing straight at Cottonee. “I’ve never seen it before.”

 

 _“Cottonee, the Cotton Puff Pokémon,”_ her Pokédex stated once she took it out. _“Perhaps because they feel more at ease in a group, they stick to others they find. They end up looking like a cloud.”_

 

“I would say that your little invader is plenty interested in me, thank you very much. Actually, come to think of it, we have a bit of a score to settle from New Bark Town, do we not? Olivia, I challenge you!”

 

“Bring it on!” Olivia immediately shot back, without even taking a moment to think. “I beat you once and I’ll do it again!”

 

“You go for it, Olivia!” Nekou encouraged. “Put him in his place!”

 

“Ha! Fat chance!” The boy from earlier, who was clothed in a red t-shirt and denim shorts, was starting to walk over in Renzo’s direction. “Renzo beat all three of us without breaking a sweat. He’ll make quick work of you, too!”

 

“Please, do not interfere.” Renzo’s request prompted the bold-tempered boy to stand down. “This is a burden I must bear alone, teaching this undeserving swine her place in the world.”

 

“Don’t you think that’s a little cruel?” By the scowl on her face, Bunny was clearly bothered by Renzo’s names for Olivia. “The way you talk, you make it sound like Olivia killed your mother or something.”

 

Renzo flinched, but quickly recovered. “Olivia, I will not be using this Cottonee against you. I just captured it, and it is not in prime health for battling. Neither will I be using my Drowzee, who is tired from battling Cottonee. I have prepared a Pokémon specifically for my next meeting with you, and now it is time for you to meet that Pokémon.”

 

“Like I said, bring it on! I’m not afraid of you!”

 

“You should be.” With Cottonee, Drowzee and the three children looking on, Renzo drew out another Poké Ball from his poncho and silently threw it.

 

From that Poké Ball emerged a muscular Pokémon whose gray body was covered in pink veins bursting from his skin. His lumpy head, round red nose and the iron beam he held alongside himself offered Olivia the only hints to his identity.

 

“That must be…” she gasped, quickly taking out her Pokédex once more.

 

_“Gurdurr, the Muscular Pokémon. Evolved form of Timburr. With strengthened bodies, they skillfully wield steel beams to take down buildings.”_

 

“So you evolved it, big deal.” Though Olivia was putting up a tough front, she had an increasing feeling of dread developing in her mind. Gurdurr was much more intimidating in appearance than Timburr was, and she knew that evolution would bring the Pokémon even more strength than he had before. “I won’t be afraid. Oshawott, let’s play!”

 

Olivia’s Water-type Pokémon appeared on the path in a burst of bright light. He did not notice his soon-to-be-foe right away; instead, he started playing with the shell on his stomach by turning it to different angles. Once he finally did notice Gurdurr standing over him, though, he quickly became serious. Like his trainer, he was nervous to be facing the menacing Gurdurr, but he had resolved to prove his worth to Olivia.

 

“Are you going to try to take a stand here?” Renzo taunted, extending his right arm and gesturing to dare Olivia to attack. “Throw everything you’ve got at me! This time is going to be different!”

 

“You’re going to regret saying that! Oshawott, Water Gun!”

 

“That’s it? Gurdurr!”

 

Drawing in a deep breath, Oshawott spit a stream of water from his mouth, aimed squarely at his opponent’s chest.

 

Gurdurr remained unfazed, however. He picked up his metal beam with dexterity that betrayed how thick and unwieldy his arms were, then began spinning it in circles in front of himself, creating a shield. Oshawott’s Water Gun bounced harmlessly off the beam, accomplishing nothing.

 

“Evolution really made that Gurdurr stronger,” Matt commented, a cold feeling running down his spine.

 

“It’s a natural trait of the evolution family of Timburr,” Dante explained. “As it goes through its evolutionary stages, a Timburr gains more and more skill in using its chosen weapons. This Gurdurr’s shield technique, though… it’s impressive.”

 

“Alright, now give her a taste of what you can do offensively, Gurdurr. Drain Punch!”

 

In order to give himself more mobility, after he was finished using the iron beam as a shield Gurdurr stuck it firmly into the ground. He then lunged at Oshawott with his right fist pulled back and enveloped in a red glow.

 

Oshawott held up his shell in a feeble attempt to shield himself from the terrifying Fighting-type Pokémon bearing down on him, but it made no difference. The shell was no match for the force of Gurdurr’s fist, which shattered it into pieces before striking Oshawott directly in the stomach, sending him rolling back through the dirt. Oshawott was hit so hard that he dug a trail into the path as he skidded to a stop.

 

“Oh no, Oshawott!” Olivia cried out, her earlier feelings of dread now manifesting as sadness and fear for Oshawott’s safety. She was planning to call him back, and even had taken out his Poké Ball, but he struggled to his feet.

 

“Osha! Osha!” Though his voice was shaky, Oshawott’s message was clear – he wanted to continue, no matter the cost.

 

Unfortunately, Olivia and her supporters were not the only ones who understood this message. Renzo picked it up, too, and he nodded his head slowly. “Your Pokémon is a foolhardy one who knows not when to quit... kind of like you, usurper. Gurdurr, teach it a lesson. Mach Punch!”

 

In a flash, Gurdurr was towering over Oshawott once more, and without facing any resistance, he used a blazingly fast punch to slam Oshawott into the ground.

 

This time, when Gurdurr pulled his fist back, Oshawott did not rise again. He lay unconscious in the hole smashed open by the sheer force of the blow.

 

“No!”

 

“Olivia, send Oshawott back!” Bunny shouted with her hands cupped around her mouth, unable to bear seeing Olivia’s Pokémon suffer. “This isn’t worth it!”

 

Silently, Olivia followed Bunny’s advice, calling Oshawott back to the safety of his Poké Ball. Instead of backing down, however, she armed herself with another sphere. “I won’t be afraid…” she said out loud, seemingly addressing her own nerves. “Minccino, let’s play!”

 

Once he saw Minccino emerge from Olivia’s second Poké Ball, Renzo scoffed. “You bank your hopes on the power of love? That’s all you’ve got with that weak little thing against Gurdurr. Well, let me tell you right now, the power of love is a lie! I’ll prove it to you right now! Gurdurr, attack with Drain Punch!”

 

“Minccino, counter that using Aqua Tail!”

 

Both Minccino and Gurdurr let out battle cries and jumped at each other, Minccino somersaulting through the air and Gurdurr with his fist pulled back. Minccino’s tail, which had taken on a blue glow, met Gurdurr’s fist with explosive results; the blast threw both Pokémon onto their backs.

 

“Don’t let up, Minccino! Keep the pressure on it! Tail Slap!”

 

Olivia had already honed in on one of Gurdurr’s weaknesses – outside of Mach Punch, he was not very swift. This weakness affected his recovery from the collision of Aqua Tail and Drain Punch, as he was struggling to stand back up. Taking advantage of this, Minccino rushed in and spun, enabling her to use her tail as a whip, striking Gurdurr’s body four times. Each hit elicited a low, pained groan from the thick-bodied Fighting-type.

 

From the sidelines, Matt smiled. He was proud to see Olivia taking charge as much as she was.

 

“That will not get you what you want. Wake-Up Slap, now!”

 

Minccino was not out of Gurdurr’s reach just yet, and he took full advantage of that to strike back with a vengeance. He swept his arm across the space before him, smacking Minccino with a sharp slap.

 

“Ciiiinooo!!” cried the tiny Normal-type. By the time she landed at her trainer’s feet, Minccino was completely unconscious as a result of Gurdurr’s extremely effective hit.

 

“Minccino…” Olivia was beginning to become numb. Watching Oshawott fall in defeat quickly was hard enough for her to accept, but to watch the same fate befall her beloved Minccino affected her on a deeper level. She no longer could clearly visualize her surroundings beyond the battle, nor could she even hear Nekou yelling to her. She simply recalled Minccino and got the next Poké Ball ready. “Roselia, let’s play!”

 

Gurdurr immediately locked eyes with Olivia’s Roselia when she was freed from her ball, and Roselia returned the gesture. Memories of New Bark Town flashed between them. Back then it had been Roselia that defeated Gurdurr, when he was still a Timburr prior to his evolution. He’d never let go of that defeat, and seeing Roselia again sent rage flowing through every bit of his body. It took all the restraint he could muster to remain in control and stop himself from attacking without orders.

 

“Roselia, Sludge Bomb! Let’s try to get in a good hit!”

 

“Gurdurr, you know what you must do.”

 

The bursts of slime Roselia fired from her flowers never reached their target, as once again, Gurdurr spun his metal beam to shield himself. Once the poison dispersed in clouds of smoke, Gurdurr tensed his muscles in preparation for his next command.

 

“Now, Gurdurr, Rock Slide!” To give his order some force, Renzo thrust his arm straight up, briefly tossing his ragged poncho open.

 

Once again, Gurdurr planted his beam in the ground, but this time he climbed atop it. From his perch, he focused all the rage he felt toward Roselia and raised his arms into the air, roaring a battle cry across the field. His power caused an energy field to open over Roselia and drop large rocks onto her, crushing the leaves on her body.

 

By this point, Olivia had long since realized that this battle was a lost cause, but something in her refused to allow her to quit. Taking what few openings she had left, she yelled, “Quick, Energy Ball!”

 

“Rock Slide, once more!”

 

The sparking green orb Roselia produced using what nature-based power she could draw upon while partially buried missed hitting Gurdurr, but it did cut down the iron beam, leaving the metal’s owner to fall to the ground. However, before he hit the dirt, Gurdurr triggered another Rock Slide, adding enough pressure on top of Roselia to force her to faint.

 

“Fuck this!” Nekou screeched, still trying to get through to Olivia. “Olivia, there’s no shame in throwing in the towel! This isn’t worth it anymore!”

 

“You stay out of this!” Renzo angrily shouted over her. “This battle is between me and Olivia! This is my score to settle and I will not let you interrupt it!”

 

Ignoring Renzo’s ranting, Matt loudly said, “I agree with Nekou. There’s no need to go further!”

 

All of it was in vain. Olivia was too broken by watching Oshawott, Minccino and Roselia go down easily, and she could not just let the battle go. She’d already called Roselia back and sent out Lillipup, who shrank before the intimidating gaze of Gurdurr.

 

“Is that all you’ve got left?” Renzo furthered his grandstanding by throwing his head back and spreading his arms. “Don’t bother lying, I can tell you don’t have any more Pokémon. I can see it in your face. That look of sheer despair when there’s no option left but to give up… it’s something I’m too familiar with, so I’ve learned to tell when I’m looking at it. So… shall we get on with finishing this once and for all, usurper? Gurdurr, Drain Punch!”

 

Olivia couldn’t even give Lillipup a direction with how numb she was. He was left with no other choice but to watch in terror as the slow moving but immensely powerful Gurdurr bore down on him.

 

“Enough. Kangaskhan, Sucker Punch.”

 

Suddenly, Gurdurr’s path to Lillipup was cut off by a Kangaskhan appearing between them. She swung and punched the Fighting-type, not hurting him much but knocking him back and stopping him from attacking Lillipup.

 

“What?!” Renzo stomped his foot into the ground in rage over having been interrupted. “Who did that? Was it you, whore?!” he screamed as he pointed at Nekou.

 

“You would know if it was me, kid. And ‘whore?’ You wish that was the worst name I’ve been called.”

 

“It was I.”

 

To the surprise of all the people gathered on the road, a tall, lithe young man jumped from the bushes to stand in the middle of the battle. His windbreaker jacket – designed with a checkerboard pattern over half-black, half-white coloring – fit loosely on his thin frame, while his long green hair flowed into a ponytail against his back from beneath his similarly-colored baseball cap.

 

“And who are you, freak?!” Knowing the intruder’s face didn’t placate Renzo’s rage at all. In fact, it made him even more angry.

 

“Fighting so brutally against Pokémon weaker than your own… it isn’t right…” As he spoke, the young man made strange gestures with his hands, as if he were manipulating something in the air before him. “Kangaskhan, Mega Punch.”

 

“It’s just a Normal-type, Gurdurr! Get that thing out of my way! Drain Punch!”

 

Gurdurr and the mysterious trainer’s Kangaskhan each swung their respective right fists toward each other, but when the two met, Gurdurr’s effort was easily overpowered. Kangaskhan managed to land a bruising blow directly on Gurdurr’s body, injuring him critically. Unable to believe what he was seeing, Renzo could do nothing but watch as his Pokémon crumpled to the ground before its mighty new foe.

 

Kangaskhan kept growling at Gurdurr, but she stopped when her trainer put his hand on her side as an indication to stand down. The trainer then walked over to Gurdurr and lowered himself onto his knees.

 

“What are you doing?!” Renzo raged as the young man placed his hands upon Gurdurr’s body. “Get off of my Pokémon!”

 

Ignoring Renzo, the trainer closed his eyes and said quietly, “Transcend the confines of time and space...”

 

Matt’s group, the three children and Renzo all looked on in varying degrees of surprise. They were watching a soft green light envelop Gurdurr and seemingly heal the visible wound he’d received. None of the observers to this was more shocked than Matt, though.

 

 _“He’s using that power, I know it!”_ Matt thought, his eyes wide. _“It’s almost the same as hers!”_

 

A moment later, the light faded, leaving the fully healed Gurdurr completely visible. Both the Pokémon and the trainer who healed him rose to their full heights, with the trainer walking back in Olivia’s direction while Gurdurr retreated to Renzo’s side.

 

“Just who are you?” Renzo demanded. “Who the hell do you think you are?!”

 

“So ungrateful, but I forgive you…” The strange young trainer continued gesturing strangely as he spoke, moving his hands and arms in wide, sweeping gestures. “My name is Nikolai, and I am a trainer… well, that’s not quite right. I am searching… for trainers and Pokémon who get along as equals. Where will you go from our meeting?”

 

“Not that I owe you any answer,” Renzo replied with a scoff, “but I am going to traverse Dark Cave and the mountains of Route 45 beyond. My goal is Blackthorn City, where I will get a Dratini no matter what I must do.”

 

“Why Dratini?” Bunny questioned. “I get that it’s rare, but you seem like you have a deeper reason.”

 

“Dragonite was her favorite…”

 

Without saying anything further, Renzo wandered off with his Pokémon. heading north on the road. The others who remained had little time to ponder his bizarre behavior, as Nikolai next approached Olivia.

 

“Please allow me to see your Pokémon…”

 

“Um…”

 

“We’re here, Olivia,” Matt said in an attempt to reassure her, not noticing that Dante and Nekou both had stepped back to coldly observe things. “I… I think he’s trustworthy. He did protect you from Gurdurr…”

 

“You’re right.”

 

Her concerns soothed, Olivia quickly released her severely weakened Minccino, Roselia and Oshawott once more. They joined Lillipup, who had been hiding behind Olivia’s legs for some time, only coming out once the other Pokémon were present.

 

“Thank you,” Nikolai spoke in a voice that was almost whispering, as he once again knelt down. “You have a fine collection of Pokémon… Now, transcend the confines of time and space…”

 

Nikolai spread his hands over Olivia’s four Pokémon, and the same green light that healed Renzo’s Gurdurr engulfed them. Before anyone knew it, Oshawott, Roselia and Minccino were completely healed. Several stunned pairs of eyes rested squarely on Nikolai as he stood back up.

 

“Your Pokémon spoke to me, Olivia... Oshawott says he wants to impress you and make you proud of him… Roselia and Minccino love being with you... Lillipup is scared of the big Pokémon but wants to get stronger…”

 

“Wait, just what is it you’re saying?” Dante questioned, abruptly dropping back into the exchange. “You can talk to Pokémon?”

 

“It’s the power of Transcendence,” Matt explained, earning a nod of agreement from Bunny, who was the only other one that knew what he was talking about.

 

“How do you know about my power…?” Nikolai’s gaze was strangely pitched, as if he was looking over Matt’s shoulder to some object far away.

 

“Because I used to know someone who had that power.” Reaching into his coat, Matt took out a pocketwatch, which he opened. Inside was a second cover, and on that second cover was a painting. It depicted a young woman, wearing white priestess clothing and her brown hair styled into three buns, whose face was distinguished by thick eyebrows above a pair of fierce, powerful blue eyes. Matt spent a moment looking at the painting, allowing himself the memories and regrets it brought to mind, before he spoke again. “Sheena was her name. She had the power of Transcendence like you, except she could only link with the hearts of people and Pokémon, not heal them like you do.”

 

“I see… there aren’t many others like me. I want to use my power to… encourage humans and Pokémon to live together in harmony. This is all I can think of… please allow me to meet the Pokémon each of you possess.”

 

“Why would you want to do that?” Nekou interrogated, her voice carrying more than a hint of suspicion over Nikolai’s motives.

 

When Nikolai answered not by speaking but by merely staring at the ground, Matt decided to pick up the slack for him. “He healed both that Gurdurr and all of Olivia’s Pokémon when he didn’t have to, and quite honestly, I don’t think someone with powers like Sheena’s can be all that bad. I’ll go first.”

 

While Matt took care in sending out each of his six Pokémon one at a time, there was more going on than any of them were aware of. Hiding in the woods and still following Matt’s group, Jessie, James and Meowth had been spying on the entire scene with their equipment and turned to each other in a panic.

 

“What is _he_ doing here?” Jessie demanded of the others. “We already knew about Ghetsis but this is something nobody said anything about!”

 

“Team Plasma is more connected with this than we were ever told,” James said in agreement.

 

“And if those crazy knights are mixed up with what’s going down with Polaris, things might be about to get really bad.” After seizing the R-Pad from James, Meowth touched an icon on its screen that allowed access to videos. “That contingency plan Ariana and the doctor came up with might be just what we need now.”

 

Out on the road, Nikolai seemed to have a childlike sense of wonder as he examined Matt’s six Pokémon, the light of his power emanating from his outstretched hands all the while. He had quickly gravitated towards Matt’s Heatran, as he was aware of the kind of stories told about the stout-bodied Fire-and-Steel-type. Next, he moved on to Matt’s Sigilyph and Golurk, and the brightly-colored, three-eyed bird and towering golem both appeared more than happy to interact with him. The same could also be said about his Salamence and Beartic, but his final Pokémon – an eel whose blue body had three yellow dots on each side – visibly vexed him.

 

Meanwhile, while Nikolai was carrying on his conversations with Matt’s Pokémon, the third of the children approached Olivia. Unlike the first two, who were rather excitable, the bowl-cut-wearing boy conducted himself very timidly as he looked up at her with wide, green eyes.

 

“Um... you have an Oshawott, and a Pokédex…”

 

“So?” Whatever the boy was trying to get at, Olivia wasn’t understanding it. “Besides it being Oshawott instead of Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile, what’s the big deal?”

 

“That scary guy on the television keeps telling us that trainers who have starter Pokémon and Pokédexes are the reason why trainers like my friends and I never get anywhere…”

 

“Do you mean Ghetsis?” Nekou interrupted. When the boy nodded, she asked him, “What do you mean when you say that you and your friends never get anywhere?”

 

“None of us have starter Pokémon. I just have my Taillow, while Julia has her Sandshrew and Ronald has his Marill. The three of us have been trying to make it to Violet City for weeks, but stronger trainers keep coming and beating us, and we don’t have enough money for medicine or the Pokémon Center…”

 

Having listened intently to the boy’s story, Nekou decided to give them help. She immediately looked up and called, “Matt!”

 

“What?” He had been watching Nikolai with his Pokémon, and as a result he was not paying attention to Olivia or the children.

 

“Call HR-E here. These kids are in desperate need of some supplies.”

 

“Hm?” Nekou’s request was so sudden that it took Matt several seconds to fully process exactly what it was she wanted. Once he fully grasped it, though, he reached up to his mask and pressed a tiny button located just under the eyepiece. “It’ll be here in a little while. What’d I miss?”

 

“Ghetsis has been giving speeches claiming that trainers with starter Pokémon and Pokédexes keep trainers without those things from succeeding. I think this might be a little more serious than just the typical dime a dozen television snake oil salesman.”

 

“Isn’t Pokémon training supposed to be about making it your own way, no matter which way you choose?” Olivia wondered out loud. “The idea of one group of trainers making it harder for another group of trainers to succeed doesn’t make sense to me.”

 

Though she claimed to not find any sense in the story, however, the idea behind it did bother Olivia. She truly believed that Pokémon trainers on the most basic level helped each other, yet standing before her was someone who seemed like he might actually buy into the concept of a simple yet fundamental difference between groups of trainers hurting one of those groups.

 

“Please explain something to me…” Matt’s attention was pulled back to its original location when Nikolai suddenly spoke up after having approached moments before. “Your Pokémon all seem at least relatively happy to be with you, as they’ve told me stories of some of your adventures… but why is your Eelektrik not responding in the same way?”

 

“I haven’t really used her at all yet, to be truthful. I was hoping to get in some training with her soon...”

 

Suddenly becoming angry, Nikolai moved in a single abrupt motion to get right in Matt’s face. “You must treat your Pokémon better! When I spoke to your Eelektrik, it told me that it feels forgotten. Simply capturing a Pokémon in one of those awful Poké Balls is not enough! You must spend time allowing that Pokémon to be free, as well!”

 

“Geez, go easy on him, he only caught Eelektrik recently!” Bunny interjected as a defense for Matt. “Also, you say Poké Balls are awful, but don’t you use them as well?”

 

Backing down from his anger somewhat, Nikolai admitted, “I do, but I do not take pleasure in doing so. I do not believe in confining Pokémon in situations where it is completely unnecessary… but in this society, it is difficult to travel with a party of Pokémon. I prefer to allow my Pokémon to live in the wild in various places until I need them, when possible...”

 

“If I need to spend more time with Charlotte, then, how about you and I practice a bit?”

 

“I dislike battling, except when one of my Pokémon wishes to engage in one...” Nikolai briefly closed his eyes and said after reopening them, “I can feel that I do have a Pokémon with me that desires a battle. Stantler, come alongside me, my friend.”

 

Just as Nikolai sent out his Stantler from his ball, the HR-E 2 came gliding up, making a quiet, clean run just off the main path. As it settled into place, Matt looked back over his shoulder to Nekou, Bunny and Olivia.

 

“Would you three go in there and get the medicine and supplies for the kids? It’s not hard to find.”

 

“Do I have to do it?” Olivia sighed. “I want to train too!”

 

Before Matt could say anything in response, Bunny said to him, “It’s okay, Nekou and I can do it ourselves, no problem.”

 

“Alright, if you say so.”

 

Nekou was uncharacteristically quiet and cooperative as she followed Bunny up to and past the entrance door into the HR-E 2. Calling back his other Pokémon, Matt brought Charlotte, his Eelektrik, to the forefront to face Nikolai’s Stantler.

 

“Lillipup, Oshawott, I want to focus on training you guys specifically. Come on over here.”

 

All four of Olivia’s Pokémon heeded her call despite her only requesting Lillipup and Oshawott; Roselia and Minccino stood beside her while the two she wished to battle waited in the front.

 

“You want to battle against us?” Ronald took Olivia’s actions as a challenge, so he dragged his timid, soft-spoken friend alongside himself to face her. “Fine, let’s have a battle where you use two Pokémon and we’ll each use one! I’m fired up!”

 

“If that’s what you want,” Olivia answered with a shrug, feigning a sort of surprise at how badly contrasting the personalities of the two boys were.

 

-:-

 

Off somewhere deeper in the woods, further away from the road than before, Jessie, James and Meowth were gathered around the R-Pad, which James was holding.

 

“Are we far enough away?” he wondered.

 

“They won’t hear us here,” Jessie sharply said. “Play the video.”

 

“And go!”

 

Meowth reached under James’s arm and pressed his paw against the R-Pad’s screen, triggering a pre-recorded video of Dr. Zager sitting in front of a camera.

 

_“Welcome. If you’re watching this video, something has gone wrong with the mission to capture the Meteonite from Route 29, and therefore you require the pre-prepared contingency plan. On Route 30 is the home of a man known as Mr. Pokémon, who collects and researches rare treasures. It is highly likely that he possesses information on the Meteonite. You are to remotely hack into his servers and download any data you can find, then forward it on to me.”_

 

“It’s all working out in pitch-perfect shape,” Meowth realized out loud. “That old guy’s got the Meteonite and is taking it to Mr. Pokémon. All we gotta do is keep following him until they meet up, and then we swoop in for the score!”

 

“Let’s move, then,” Jessie directed. “What we can’t afford is to fall behind.”

 

-:-

 

Some time later, Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny, Dante and Nikolai were once again walking on the road, having reached the northern part of Route 30. Dante and Matt were leading the pack, with Olivia, Bunny and Nekou clustered in the middle and Nikolai bringing up the rear.

 

“I’ve got to tell you, Olivia, you did really well back there,” Matt said over his shoulder. “Even for a training battle, that was good work.”

 

“Thanks!” the girl beamed, smiling broadly for the compliment. “Harold and his Taillow were stronger than I expected… I thought Ronald’s Marill would be tougher, but I was wrong. Lillipup and Oshawott really came through for me, though.”

 

“And what about you and Nikolai?” Bunny chimed in. “You two had a pretty nice sparring match yourselves.”

 

“I guess he was right about Charlotte wanting to have some time out doing things. She really responded to getting a chance to battle. Nikolai, thanks for that.”

 

“I’m only doing what I think is right…” By now, Nikolai’s anger from earlier had fully subsided. He lurked behind the others and watched them carefully as they walked, not bothering to socialize but also not bothering to detach himself from the group.

 

“Mr. Pokémon’s home is right through here.” Gesturing to an offshoot of the path that briefly crossed into the forest, Dante led the others in the direction he indicated.

 

At the end of the path was something none of them were expecting.

 

The house, a modest, two-story building made of wood, was being attacked by a Pokémon. They had to look carefully to see it, but there was a blue rock Pokémon shooting energy blasts from its yellow core at the structure.

 

“What is that Pokémon?”

 

Even before Matt finished asking his question, Olivia had her Pokédex out and was already in the process of scanning the Pokémon.

 

_“Roggenrola, the Mantle Pokémon. The hexagonal-shaped hole is its ear. It has a tendency to walk in the direction the sound is coming from.”_

 

“Why is that Roggenrola attacking Mr. Pokémon’s home?” Dante lamented aloud.

 

The owner of the house was nowhere to be seen; Matt assumed, or at least hoped, that he was still safely inside. Roggenrola didn’t seem to notice the group and remained fixated on firing Rock Blast attacks at the building.

 

“Let me find out,” Nikolai declared, showing an unexpected assertiveness as he stepped forth and extended his hands. “Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

Roggenrola didn’t even become aware of the group when Nikolai activated his power, but the glow from his hands enthralled Matt, Olivia and Bunny. As he probed into the mind of the small Rock-type Pokémon, Nikolai started to sweat, as accessing the innermost of Roggenrola’s thoughts was proving harder even than healing Olivia’s injured Pokémon.  


“Why is he having trouble?” Olivia asked Matt out of worry.

 

“Sheena told me once that when a Pokémon is enraged, it becomes harder to reach that Pokémon’s heart. He’s trying to break through.”

 

“I’ve… aah!” Nikolai’s eyes whipped open and he stumbled back, prompting Matt and Bunny to run to hold him up. “Th-thank you. That Roggenrola… it’s gone into a feral state and is trying to get food from in the house, because he’s been feeding the wild Pokémon in the area…”

 

“Well, if that Pokémon is feral, maybe capturing it would be a good idea? We could civilize it.”

 

Unsure of Matt’s proposal, Nikolai pulled his hat down and said, “I disagree on principle, but your Pokémon were fairly happy to be with you…”

 

“I don’t see any other way to calm it down, and I think I might be able to get some training out of this, too. Charlotte, make your mark!”

 

This was actually the idea that had jumped into Matt’s head almost immediately upon seeing the wild Roggenrola. Ever since learning that Charlotte was unhappy with her current situation, he’d been hoping for a chance to let her have a real battle. The sparring with Nikolai’s Stantler was a start, but he wanted something a bit less controlled.

 

Charlotte balanced her long body on the ground so she could stand up and sent electricity flowing through her muscles, lighting up the spots on her sides.

 

“Take the first attack, Charlotte! Charge Beam!”

 

Some sparks shot out of Charlotte’s open mouth, followed by a concentrated blast of electricity. Roggenrola had finally taken notice and turned around when she heard Matt give his command, but she was nowhere near agile enough to avoid being swept up in the electric flow.

 

Leaping out from the vortex, Roggenrola aimed the opening on her body at Charlotte, which then began to glow as it gathered power. Four energized rocks shot out of the opening and smashed into Charlotte, leaving purple bruises across her skin.

 

“That first attack was quite effective, Matt.” After announcing her assessment, Bunny thought quickly and added, “I don’t think you need more than one more. Be very careful not to knock it out!”

 

“Well, it’s a Rock-type, right? Then a Poison-type move should weaken it just enough. Acid Spray!”

 

Charlotte cut off the flow of electricity to her mouth, then spat out a blob of green acid. Though the acid washed over Roggenrola’s body and broke down her defenses, however, it did not add significant injury to the already-hurt Pokémon. She could be seen breathing deeply, most likely drawing in air through the opening on the front of her body.

 

“Ro-genn!” she cried, rushing forward on her tiny brown feet. She threw herself at Charlotte, but the Eelektrik weaved away, allowing the failed Headbutt attack to sail harmlessly past. Roggenrola ended up sliding into the dirt just beyond where Charlotte stood.

 

“Now, the truth shall reveal itself! Go, Poké Ball!”

 

Having taken an empty Poké Ball from his bag, Matt threw it in a sweeping motion at the Roggenrola, who was struggling to pull herself up from the dirt. When the capsule hit the Rock-type Pokémon’s body, it split open and absorbed Roggenrola in a flash of light before closing and falling to the ground.

 

“I cannot say I approve of dealing with this situation in such a way…” Nikolai uttered in a severe tone while the others all watched the ball shake.

 

To the surprise of even him, though, shortly thereafter the Poké Ball shattered. Now freed and growling in rage, Roggenrola turned to face Matt and Charlotte.

 

“Looks like you pissed it off,” Nekou slyly said, fully knowing that Matt was perfectly aware of this already.

 

“Don’t give me that now!”

 

“Matt, watch out!” Olivia hastily cried.

 

Roggenrola was charging again, this time squarely at Matt. He hadn’t noticed because he’d turned his head to address Nekou.

 

Grunting, he covered his mouth with his arm and shouted, “Charlotte, Thunder Wave!”

 

Despite having tiny feet, Roggenrola was able to build up enough force to jump directly at Matt. Charlotte got in the way, though, and intercepted Roggenrola. She was releasing electricity from her body when they collided, causing paralysis to overcome Roggenrola while she was flung back herself. Matt barely avoided getting knocked down by his own Pokémon.

 

“I think that ought to do it,” he said to Bunny, Olivia and Nikolai, who were the only ones still paying attention to what was going on; Dante was already walking to the door of Mr. Pokémon’s home, while Nekou was spending her time looking at the trees surrounding the road. Sighing, Matt took out another Poké Ball and wordlessly threw it at Roggenrola. This time, the Pokémon put up little resistance and was successfully captured.

 

“I hope you will treat that Roggenrola properly…”

 

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” Matt said, dismissing Nikolai’s incessant concern while he picked up the Poké Ball that now contained his Roggenrola. Turning his head, he asked, “Nekou, what are you doing?”

 

“I love how the trees look in autumn…”

 

“I guess she’s just being herself again,” he conceded, sighing.

 

Meanwhile, Dante had long since stopped being concerned about what the younger members of his traveling group were doing. He was standing in front of Mr. Pokémon’s front door, waiting after having rung the bell.

 

“Come on, I know you’re home!” he called, his voice clearly conveying the irritation he felt.

 

“The Pokémon want to come in here and eat all the food I’ve got!” someone shouted back from behind the door.

 

“Oy, not this again… there’s no Pokémon out here that want your food, at least anymore anyway. And if you’d stop feeding them, they’ll stop coming!”

 

There was a hesitation, as if the owner of the voice was considering what Dante had said. The sound of many locks being undone followed, coupled with more muttering from inside the house.

 

“You can never be too sure in this day and age, Dante. Blasted Team Rocket taking all our money from the banks and all… this world ain’t what it used to be.”

 

The door was opened slowly from the inside, and the house’s owner shuffled out. Mr. Pokémon was a man about Dante’s age, however, he appeared much older due to his rumpled clothing and unkempt white hair and beard.

 

“You brought the thing?” he requested, shielding his tired-looking eyes from the late afternoon sun with his arm.

 

“Right here,” Dante replied, holding up the briefcase with the Meteonite inside.

 

“Good, good. Tobias and Gabriella have been riding my ass about this, and you just made it in time. They’re coming tonight.” Peering out further, Mr. Pokémon spied Matt’s group and Nikolai standing around and talking nearby. “Look at that. Look what the feminists caused, that wench over there with her body hanging out everywhere.”

 

“I heard thaaaat,” Nekou interrupted, speaking in a loud, sing-song voice. “So fuck you, because I don’t care!”

 

“And now you see what I’ve been traveling with the last couple days,” Dante chuckled. “They’re good people, though. I’ve enjoyed my company with them.”

 

“Mr. Pokémon, I presume?” Having walked up alongside Dante, Matt addressed the strange old man himself.

 

“Who are you?” Mr. Pokémon fumbled a pair of glasses out of the breast pocket of his brown suit, put them on, and squinted at Matt. “Is it already happening?”

 

“Okaaay…” Matt took a step back before continuing. “It might be. You see, we came from New Bark Town, and Professor Juniper told us that Professor Elm had gone to visit you. Is he here?”

 

“Professor Elm was here, yes, but he left with as much haste as he came. Said he was going to the Ruins of Alph, if I’m not mistaken.”

 

Matt shrugged in response to this news. Granted, finding Elm wasn’t number one on his list of priorities, but he still would have liked to have located the professor.

 

“Matt, please give my farewells to Olivia, Bunny and Nekou,” said the doctor. “I must stay here tonight to present my Meteonite research to Mr. Pokémon’s guests. I have enjoyed traveling with you and your friends.”

 

“And it’s been an honor to get to know you, Doctor. Hopefully we’ll meet again.”

 

Dante extended his hand, so Matt took up the offer of a handshake with no hesitation. The magnitude his mind assigned to shaking the hand of such an important scientist was not lost on him. After that, Dante sharply turned on his heel and entered the house, then Mr. Pokémon slammed the door shut.

  
“Well then…”

 

“So what are we doing now?”

 

The feeling of Nekou’s hand on his shoulder made Matt turn abruptly. She, along with the others, had come up behind him while he was speaking with Dante.

 

“I don’t know. Finished looking at leaves?”

 

“I’ll remember that, smartass.” The way Nekou was smiling gave away that she was saying this in a good-natured way, for a change. “What’s going on with Dr. Fantomos?”

 

“He’s staying here to present his Meteonite research. He didn’t ask me to stay behind and wait for him, so I assume that we can go ahead to Violet City.”

 

“It’s not far from here,” Bunny piped up. She had a map unrolled in her hands and was studying their location on it. “Yeah, we only have a little way longer to go now.”

 

“Then let’s hit the road!” Olivia cheered, pumping her fist into the air. “Violet City and Badge number one, here we come!”

 

“Always so much energy… I have to admit, Olivia, sometimes you keep me going.”

 

With Violet City awaiting them to the northwest, the group – now minus Dante, but with Nikolai in tow – set out. The trees, their leaves cloaked in the earthy autumn colors that so enraptured Nekou, provided a warm framing for their trip down the dirt road that led the way.

 

“Stop.”

 

They didn’t even get twenty feet away from Mr. Pokémon’s home before more trouble arrived.

 

“What? Who said that?”

 

Nekou thrust her right arm out in front of Olivia and pulled her switchblade from her blouse with the left. “Someone’s here. They’re watching us…”

 

“I am…”

 

A sound like a gust of wind tore through the clearing, and one of the members of the Shadow Triad appeared, seemingly materializing from thin air. The color drained from Nekou’s face as she stood ready to fight him, while Matt, Olivia, Bunny and Nikolai all just stared at the strange young man.

 

“What’s going on here?” Bunny demanded. “Who are you?”

 

“I am… the unbreakable steel of Chaos… I do not have any orders to harm any of you unless you get in my way. Lord N, you are coming with me.”

 

“N? What kind of name is that?” Olivia wondered out loud.

 

“Tough luck, none of us is named N,” Matt harshly added. “Leave us alone.”

 

“I am looking at you right now, Lord N…” Chaos announced, leveling his finger straight at Nikolai. “Cease these foolish games… Lord Ghetsis has grown impatient.”

 

“I don’t know who you are!” Nikolai cried out. “I am just a simple trainer. Surely I am not the person you speak of!”

 

The striking sincerity of Nikolai’s words gave Chaos pause. In his hesitation, he left Nekou a chance to slip into the exchange.

 

“So Ghetsis is still controlling your Shadow Triad?” she quizzed the ninja.

 

Apparently having not perceived Nekou’s presence earlier, Chaos smirked beneath the mesh covering his mouth. “Well, well, well, seeing you is certainly a surprise, Black Cat. It must have slipped your mind that we, the Shadow Triad, live only to serve Lord Ghetsis and his whims.”

 

“Black Cat? What is this guy talking about?

 

Nekou went even paler at Matt’s line of questioning, but otherwise held her cool. “He’s trying to psych you and I out. Don’t listen to him.”

 

“You’re lucky I do not have the time to deal with you. Lord N… if you cannot remember your place in this world, I will force you to remember! Liepard! Bisharp! Banette!”

 

Chaos reached to his waist and threw three Poké Balls in a single motion that was so swift it nearly could not be seen. His three Pokémon appeared before him, one of which – a lithe-bodied, feline creature covered in purple-and-yellow fur – Matt noted he hadn’t seen before.

 

“Go forth! Bisharp, Assurance! Liepard, Aerial Ace! Banette, Will-O-Wisp!”

 

With Nikolai fixated in their eyes, all three of Chaos’s Pokémon lunged forward; blue light surrounded Liepard’s front claws, while Banette crossed his arms and threw flares of blue fire and a black glow surrounded both of Bisharp’s hands.

 

“No you don’t! Tanya, make your mark!”

 

“Right alongside you! Kayla, come out!”

 

Blocking the path of the three Pokémon with their bodies, Matt and Bunny sent out their Heatran and Mienshao respectively to provide some additional cover. Tanya’s large, bulky body was, in fact, enough to deflect the attempted attacks of the trio by itself.

 

“You’re going to protect him? Your loss… not even a Pokémon like Heatran will make me stand down… Liepard, Snarl!”

 

A single fallen leaf crunched under Liepard’s careful steps forward. He opened his mouth as widely as possible and let out a horrific screech, filling the air with shrill noise. Matt, Olivia and Bunny all had to hold their ears to protect themselves from the terrible sound. Tanya and Kayla cringed as well, but strangely, it appeared to have no effect on Nekou and Nikolai, as they simply stood still.

 

“Do... do you think… that’ll actually work?!” It was a struggle for Matt to speak under the influence of Liepard’s well-practiced Snarl, but he managed to force himself through it. “T-Tanya… Flash Cannon!”

 

One downside of Chaos’s honed attack was that Liepard was left vulnerable to a counterattack, which came when Tanya fired a large shot of silvery light from her mouth at him. As soon as it hit Liepard, the blast exploded, cutting off Snarl from continuing. Bisharp immediately picked up his teammate’s slack, jumping in and swinging his arms to dispel the smoke. Liepard arched his back from behind Bisharp, his coat discolored from Flash Cannon’s heat.

 

“I am one of Lord Ghetsis’s chosen hands!” Chaos appeared to be losing his composure, slipping into behavior more suitable of his name as he clenched his fists. “I will not fail him!!”

 

“It’ll be hard to please him when you’re in pieces.”

 

Out of nowhere, Nekou was right next to Chaos, swinging her knife down with his shoulder as her target. He was forced to defend himself by swiftly pulling a dagger from his belt to block the strike.

 

“You’re out of luck, Black Cat!” Chaos growled. “Bisharp! Lead Banette and Liepard while I take care of this one!”

 

A sharp grunt and a smile indicated that Bisharp gladly accepted the responsibility Chaos delegated to him. Banette and Liepard rallied to his side, and much like a trainer, he pointed his right arm forward at their enemies and spoke in his own language to give orders, which Banette and Liepard seemingly understood.

 

While Banette hung back, Liepard lunged forward once more, again attempting to land an Aerial Ace. Banette backed up his ally by waving his arms back and forth to generate a gust of chilled air. However, also in much the same way as the first exchange of attacks, Tanya used her body and her natural Fire-and-Steel typing to block and absorb the Aerial Ace and Icy Wind.

 

“I think it’s time we fought back. Kayla, use Drain Punch on Liepard!”

 

Moving with great speed, Kayla immediately closed the gap between herself and Chaos’s Liepard. Before the Dark-type Pokémon could react, she threw back the long, purple-tipped fur on her arm and punched Liepard squarely in the face using the fist underneath. The welt left behind quickly transformed into light, which was absorbed into Kayla’s body.

 

Crying out his name in an ear-splitting hiss, Bisharp leapt over the stunned Liepard, his hands glowing black in preparation for Assurance again. His target was Nikolai, but Olivia was standing close enough to also be threatened. Seeing Bisharp coming down toward her caused Olivia to cringe in fear; she’d already had one near-death experience with a Bisharp and had no desire to go through another.

 

“Magma Storm!”

 

The tornado of fire that swirled from Tanya’s mouth failed to directly connect, but it flew closely enough to blow Bisharp back with its sheer force. Once she was out of danger, Olivia ran to Bunny, but Nikolai simply remained still.

 

 _“This is not right…”_ he thought. Tears were welling up in his eyes, hidden from the others due to the shadow of his hat. _“ Pokémon and humans fighting each other like this…”_

 

As the Pokémon exchanged blows, Nekou and Chaos were doing the same. Sparks flew every time the metal of Nekou’s switchblade and Chaos’s dagger clashed, but neither of them could make much headway against the other, as the rapid pace of Nekou’s attack forced Chaos to defend himself instead of fighting back.

 

“Let’s see how you like this!” Chaos abruptly roared.

 

Deciding to take a risk, the Shadow Triad member dropped his defensive techniques and attempted to directly hit Nekou. The mesh covering over his mouth ended up getting cut off, but in exchange for that battle damage, he managed to slash a long gash into Nekou’s left shoulder.

 

Stumbling back and looking down at the red ooze slowly trickling out of her skin, Nekou spat, “Fuck, you got me! Well, actually, you only got my clothes… I guess Ghetsis didn’t prepare you for facing me?” Nekou lightly ran her hand over the bloody wound, then raised that same hand to her mouth and licked the liquid off. Immediately, her mind began to race. “Mmm… yeah, they didn’t tell you, so I will. You might have cut me, but the thing is… a wounded animal is the most vicious!”

 

When she jerked her head back up, Nekou’s eyes were filled with a bright yellow glow. She screamed loudly enough to cause her voice to crack and lunged at Chaos, assaulting him in such a bloodthirsty frenzy that he couldn’t keep up. Her switchblade first claimed his gloves, which fell to the ground in pieces, then began nicking small cuts into his exposed hands and arms.

 

“You’re mine now, you little shit! All I have to do is beat you before _that_ happens now!”

 

Chaos knew he was in trouble against Nekou if she was going to press him so relentlessly. Becoming consumed by desperation, he began to reach for a small pouch attached to his belt.

 

Before any of this chaotic scene could be sorted out, however, a new element entered the fray to decide the outcome. A Haxorus came crashing through the battle with her Dual Chop move, using the first swing of her tusks to fell Banette and Liepard and the second to separate Nekou and Chaos.

 

“That Pokémon,” Olivia gasped, genuinely surprised. “It’s…”

 

“You should not be using Pokémon to cause harm to those who have not harmed you,” Dante lectured Chaos as he stepped back into the clearing. “I come out here to see what all the racket is, and what do I find? Nothing more than some white-haired ninja scoundrel making trouble for some innocents. It’s rightly disappointing.”

 

“Stay out of this, old man!” Chaos sneered.

 

“Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny, take Nikolai and go to Violet City as you intended. I’m sporting enough to stay behind and deal with this common thug of a villain.”

 

“You heard the man!” Wasting no time in agreeing with Dante’s proposal, Matt rallied his friends to evacuate Route 30 right away by recalling his Pokémon, a move mimicked by Bunny. “Let’s move!”

 

“Oh no you don’t! Not with Lord N!”

 

Of course, Chaos was completely unwilling to let his prey escape capture. Capable of going to any length to accomplish Ghetsis’s orders, he reached into the pouch on his belt, swiftly withdrawing and flinging a dart. The dart hit Nikolai in the center of his chest, and almost immediately, he started going into convulsions.

 

“Nikolai?” Bunny whispered, suddenly feeling terrified unlike anything else she’d felt that day.

 

“Listen to me, you’re going to be okay!” Matt rushed over to support Nikolai just as the green-haired young man vomited into the grass. Though he was not an expert in the field of their study, Matt knew enough about toxins to realize quite swiftly that Chaos’s dart was surely poisoned.

 

“Now will you be a good prince and return on your king’s decree?” demanded the shady ninja bodyguard. “That genetic suppressant ought to be working wonders on your freak body right now.”

 

His suspicions of a poison dart confirmed, Matt made a motion as if he was preparing to battle Chaos directly, but all the ninja’s threat earned him was a swift, high kick in the throat from a very angry Nekou.

 

“If you’re gonna fight dirty, do it against me, fucker!” she screamed at Chaos as he fell backward.

 

“Nekou, not now!” Matt shouted over to her. He and Bunny were supporting Nikolai, who could no longer stand on his own and was suffering more violent convulsions. “Look at this… whatever he had that dart spiked with really messed Nikolai up!”

 

“Hurry, get him out of here! Go to Violet City’s Pokémon Center. He should be able to get treatment there!”

 

“You heard the man, Nekou!” Bunny called out, intending to follow Dante’s orders. “Let’s go!”

 

It took every ounce of Nekou’s remaining restraint, but she managed to tear herself away from her fight with Chaos, even though she hadn’t yet worked through the rush she still felt. Blinking repeatedly, she forced down her aggression, and the yellow glow disappeared from her eyes. Matt and Bunny assisted Nikolai in escaping into the woods to the west, and Nekou escorted Olivia in following them.

 

Stumbling to his feet, Chaos yelled after the five, “Stop! You are going nowhere!”

 

“No, you are the one who won’t be going anywhere,” Dante offered as a correction while his Haxorus stood in Chaos’s way. “I will dispose of you myself.”

 

“Hmph, like there’s anything an old man like you can do! Bisharp, Liepard, Banette, attack!”

 

Summoning what strength they had left, Chaos’s three Pokémon all lunged at Haxorus. Both she and Dante remained calm, however. Neither of them saw the opposing trio of Pokémon or their trainer as a threat in the least.

 

“Haxorus,” Dante coolly directed, even closing his eyes as he spoke, “Dual Chop.”

 

Just like when they’d arrived earlier, Haxorus swiftly charged forward and cut Liepard down using her right tusk, then slashed Banette with the left. Both Pokémon crumpled to the ground as a result of everything they’d taken.

 

“Bisharp, Iron Head!!”

 

“It is over. Haxorus, use Counter!”

 

An orange light outlined Haxorus’s body, and when Bisharp’s metallic headbutt struck her, she immediately punched him squarely in the face. Because Haxorus’s attack was twice as strong as the move she had been hit with, Bisharp was defeated just as his allies were.

 

“Is that it?” Dante taunted the dumbfounded Shadow Triad member. “You were not even a slight challenge for me. Be on your way if you don’t want this to get any worse for yourself.”

 

“Ugh… I swear on my honor, I will avenge this loss in the name of Lord Ghetsis! Harmonia shall rise!”

 

Chaos quickly recalled his three fallen Pokémon, then disappeared using one of his ninja techniques, leaving Dante alone in the clearing with Haxorus.

 

Turning to her trainer, the golden-bodied dragon questioningly growled, “Haro?”

 

“He will present no more disobedience, so it is not worth pursuing him further. You did well, so rest awhile.”

 

-:-  
  
A few hours later, after the sun had set over Johto, a helicopter rested outside of Mr. Pokémon’s home. It was colored black with gold trim around the doors, and barely fit in the clearing.

 

The inside of Mr. Pokémon’s house was as much of a disorganized mess as he was himself. Towering computer hard drives and bookshelves lined the walls, while his tables were covered by sloppy stacks of papers, magazines and foreign coins. On the far side of the darkened room was a red couch, on which his guests were sitting. One was a man in a gray uniform and a short red cape, who was sitting with his arms crossed; the other was a bright-eyed woman dressed in a smart black business suit and tie. Both of them had long, flowing hair that covered the left side of their faces; the man’s was shoulder-length and blue, while the woman’s golden hair stretched all the way down to her thighs.

 

“Governor Tobias, President Gabriella, is there anything I can get either of you fine folks?” Mr. Pokémon was standing hunchbacked next to the couch and held his hands together as he tried to be polite to his guests.

 

“Have you got any coffee? I’d really like some, especially if you could throw a lot of sugar in!”

 

“I’ll just take a bottle of Fresh Water, if you would.”

 

The difference between the two couldn’t have been more pronounced. Gabriella was outgoing and very upbeat, while Tobias conducted himself in a serious and straightforward manner.

 

Mr. Pokémon disappeared into the kitchen of his cluttered bungalow to fetch the refreshments that had been ordered. Standing across the room, next to a table on which he’d placed his briefcase, Dante stepped forth to begin his presentation.

 

“Thank you for coming out, Tobias, Gabriella.” Before speaking further, he leaned his weight on his cane and bowed slightly, then opened his briefcase to reveal the Meteonite piece. “I merely have a small amount of research to present to you regarding the Meteonite, as I described.”

 

“I’m all ears,” Tobias said.

 

“You see, the Meteonite…” Dante was briefly interrupted when Mr. Pokémon returned to hand Tobias his water and Gabriella her coffee, but he quickly picked up again. “The Meteonite is composed of an element that does not exist on Earth. This alone warrants further study, for it is clearly not anything that is currently included on the periodic table. This element, therefore, should also be called Meteonite, unless a new name is decided upon later.”

 

“That’s fascinating, Dr. Fantomos, but tell me… does it actually do anything?”

 

“Yeah, you know, Tobias is right. A glittery rock is nice and all, but if you can’t do anything with it, it’s only good for looking at. And that’s really kind of boring, right?”

 

“I’m getting to that. One property this element appears to have is responsiveness to itself. As in, if you use a quantity of it to search, it will react when a second quantity is nearby. It appears to interfere with electronics when it is activated, as if it is generating an electromagnetic pulse.”

 

“Could it possibly have a medicinal use?”

 

Dante coughed before answering Gabriella’s question; the air in Mr. Pokémon’s house was rather dusty. “I suppose it is possible that the electrical pulses released by Meteonite can have a stimulating effect on living tissue.”

 

“Excellent! I wish to acquire some of this magic rock of yours right away, then, Dante. I’ll send it right off to my R&D department at the Angel Corporation, and we might discover some new medical treatments!”

 

“Surely this element is useful for more than just regenerative medicine?” Tobias remarked.

 

“I was getting to that. During my experiments with the Meteonite in my possession, I discovered a potential use for it that was unlike anything else.”

 

“Which is?”

 

“While I was experimenting with applying electrical pulses of differing frequencies to the Meteonite, it reacted and created energy pulses. Nearby, a pack of Pawniard and a Bisharp went wild after being exposed to that energy. I believe that this element may be capable of influencing Pokémon behavior when certain electrical pulses are applied to it. I tested several different frequencies, and it would appear that the Pawniard and Bisharp only responded to that frequency, so I theorize that different frequencies affect different families of Pokémon.”

 

“To think a simple rock from space could be so amazing…” said an awed Gabriella.

 

“It all makes sense. I will have to direct the Tohjo Continent officials to draw up emergency plans for if more Meteonite lands on Earth after the Ruins of Alph strike.” Rising to his feet, Tobias extended his hand to Dante. “Dr. Fantomos, I know Gabriella will have the Angel Corporation’s R&D do what they can, but your mind is very important for us to have on this study. You may be the only man who can truly understand how Meteonite affects living things.”

 

“I’ll be honored to continue working with you, Governor,” Dante responded, accepting Tobias’s handshake. “Anything I’m able to do to help the people of this country, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

 

“Dante, you know, I have to thank you for all the help you’re giving us, for real. Since those things started falling from the sky, weird stuff has been happening. I appreciate that someone with a big brain like you is giving us a hand figuring it all out.”

 

“You’re very welcome, Gabriella.” Dante shook Gabriella’s hand after releasing Tobias’s. “I’ll arrange the transfer of the Meteonite to your building in Viridian City right away. Be safe on your way back.”

 

-:-

 

Tobias and Gabriella left Mr. Pokémon’s house and Route 30 at the conclusion of the meeting, departing together in the helicopter that they arrived in. Dante, on the other hand, stayed at his friend’s home; the two spent quite some time discussing the most recent magazines from foreign nations to be added to Mr. Pokémon’s collection over some beer. Eventually, Dante decided to turn in for the night, but Mr. Pokémon remained up, working on his computers.

 

Outside in the bushes, beneath the moon and stars filling the clear night sky, James and Meowth were working with the R-Pad while Jessie and Wobbuffet observed Mr. Pokémon’s house using binoculars.

 

“Look at this data, it’s incredible!” James exclaimed, though he quickly tried to check the volume of his voice. “Maybe this is how we should have gone about it this way last time, stealing the data after letting Team Plasma take the Meteonite.”

 

“Oh, come on.” Meowth looked up from the charts of data steadily streaming in from Mr. Pokémon’s hacked servers and hissed, “You know that’s not helping!”

 

“Sorry, sorry.” As the download of the Meteonite data completed, James deactivated the computer and picked it up. Turning his head, he quietly called to his teammate, “Jessie, see anything?”

 

“It’s a house at night, James. Of course I haven’t seen anything.” Jessie sighed and slumped over. The job of keeping watch over the building for signs of any danger was an incredibly boring one to her; in fact, she found a lot of their current mission dull. Ever since she, James and Meowth had been dragged out of retirement by Pierce on behalf of Team Rocket, she had been hoping that it would at least be for an entertaining reason. Simply sitting around watching houses didn’t sate her appetite for action.

 

“Wobbuffet! Wobba!!”

 

Wobbuffet frantically tugging on her arm meant that just perhaps, action had found them in the end.

 

“What do you want?” she sharply demanded of her Pokémon.

 

“Wobba!”

 

Following Wobbuffet’s wild gestures, Jessie looked back through her binoculars at the house. What she saw made her gasp.

 

“James, Meowth, be quiet and get over here. Something’s happening.”

 

The door of the building had opened, and Mr. Pokémon had stepped out. In his hand was the briefcase containing the Meteonite, the same one that Dante had delivered to him.

 

“Where are they?” the disheveled old man wondered aloud. “They’re late.”

 

“Sorry to keep you waiting. We are here.”

 

From the westbound road, a woman wearing a plush coat of brown fur emerged, followed by four men in khaki uniforms. The woman’s most distinguishing feature, however, was the mask covering her face, which was designed to incorporate the beak and red-white-and-blue feathers of Braviary.

 

“So you finally showed up, Mercury?!” Mr. Pokémon growled. “It took you long enough. Getting this thing was hard enough!”

 

“Oh, cool it, we’re not that late. Séduire and I were making some preparations for the next stage. I trust that knowledge of the Meteonite’s purpose has been contained?”

 

“There’s nothing to worry about,” he assured Mercury with a smirk, which quickly vanished. “Your son and that girl he was taking care of were sniffing around here, though. I don’t have any reason to think they know anything beyond the word Meteonite.”

 

Mercury slouched; this wasn’t news she was hoping to hear. “I really would have liked that to not be the case, but it’s not your fault.”

 

Over in the bushes, Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet were watching this scene with awe.

 

“Would you look at that,” Meowth uttered in sheer amazement, “Mr. Pokémon is in with Polaris!”

 

“This is big… we have to tell someone. It’s worse than we thought.”

 

Nodding in agreement with James’s comment, Jessie added, “Dr. Zager and the boss need to know that nobody can be trusted.”

 

“Nobody needs to know anything!”

 

Out of nowhere, Chaos warped into the area the trio were using for their hideout. The sudden appearance of the Shadow Triad member startled them so badly that they stumbled out into the open, blowing their cover. Mercury seemed unsurprised by their presence, but her followers and Mr. Pokémon all jumped, shocked by the sudden interruption.

 

“Intruders!” Mr. Pokémon shouted before seeing the ‘R’ logo on the uniforms they wore under their trenchcoats. “Team Rocket! They’re here! It’s happening!!”

 

“What is it you want, Team Rocket?” Mercury questioned them in a severe tone, having secured the Meteonite’s briefcase for herself.

 

“They were spying on your meeting,” Chaos explained as he walked from the bushes. “They know about the Meteonite.”

 

“Well that is not any surprise, not after how relentlessly Team Rocket pursued the Meteonite in Unova.”

 

“Shall we dispose of them?” one of the men in Mercury’s team asked her.

 

“No,” she replied, looking down on the Team Rocket trio, who were in complete disarray. “Let me do it. Electivire, go!”

 

The Electric-type Pokémon, whose bulky, muscular body was covered in yellow fur and black stripes, materialized alongside his masked trainer. They both took a single step forward, meaning to intimidate the Team Rocket trio.

 

To a degree, it worked. Surrounded by Mercury, her men and her growling Electivire on one side and Chaos on the other, they constricted closer and closer to each other, searching for a way out.

 

“Jessie, James, you know, now would be a really good time for one of you to come up with a plan!!”

 

“We’re sitting ducks here,” James concurred with Meowth. “What should we do?”

 

“There’s no way out of this one,” Jessie quickly concluded, taking another Poké Ball from the pocket of her coat, “so the only right thing to do is go down fighting!”

 

“That’s my kind of talk.”

 

Jessie and James each opened a single Poké Ball simultaneously. Jessie’s ball released a plump bat Pokémon with a heart-shaped nose and a midsection covered in white fur, while James’s gave rise to a golden coffin cloaked in a shadow that formed four long arms and hands. These two Pokémon, immediately becoming aware of the threat they faced, moved to shield their trainers with their bodies.

 

“How quaint!” Mercury blew her opposition off. “Two agents of a dying crime group trying to stand up against me.”

 

“You be quiet!” James shot back, his emotions finally boiling over. “We don’t know what Polaris is planning, but I’ll tell you that Team Rocket will prevent you from doing it so we can rule the world!”

 

“If that’s what you believe in, defeat me.” Shedding her lighthearted cockiness, Mercury steeled her stance and became serious.

 

“So what are you two mooks waiting for?!” Meowth loudly griped at his teammates.

 

“Nothing! Swoobat, use Heart Stamp!”

 

“Cofagrigus, combine your Will-O-Wisp with that!”

 

Cofagrigus’s red eyes, which were peering out from an opening in the upper part of his coffin, flashed brightly. He then made a flicking motion with each of his four hands, forming a ring of blue fireballs. When Swoobat started to glide toward Electivire, these fireballs surrounded her, complementing her glowing, heart-shaped nose.

 

“I’ll give you credit for having the courage to attack head-on. Foolhardy, but courageous. Electivire, take all that out with Electroweb!”

 

Electivire thrust his right arm forward, directly at the oncoming attacks aimed his way. From each of his fingers, strings of electrically charged webbing lashed out, washing over and knocking down Swoobat while dispelling the Will-O-Wisp flames.

 

Once Swoobat was down, Electivire released a second, more intense shock through the web, causing the bat Pokémon to cry out in pain.

 

“Swoobat!” exclaimed a dismayed Jessie. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of there. Right, James?”

 

“I’ll try! Cofagrigus, use Will-O-Wisp to burn the webbing!”

 

“Electroweb!”

 

Cofagrigus started to form more wisps of fire around himself, but Mercury’s Electivire cut him off. The Electric-type Pokémon now thrust up his left hand and released an even larger amount of web, now creating a massive net that held down both Cofagrigus and Swoobat.

 

“Now it’s time for this to end. Electivire, shock them.”

 

With both hands now controlling the wide net he’d cast, Electivire sent a massive surge of electricity flowing through it. The web ultimately burned away, but not before acting as the conductor for enough energy to leave Swoobat and Cofagrigus as twitching wrecks on the ground.

 

“Finish them off! Wild Charge!” Mercury wasn’t paying attention to the Team Rocket members, but if she was, she would have seen that they smirked slightly when she gave this command.

 

A shroud of yellow electricity completely enveloped Electivire’s body, and by using his powerful legs to propel himself, he lunged for Swoobat and Cofagrigus.

 

“Now!” Jessie screamed. “Wobbuffet, Destiny Bond!”

 

To protect his trainer, her friends and her Pokémon, Wobbuffet jumped in between them and the charging Electivire. Just before Wild Charge struck him, his entire body flashed with purple light.

 

Left with a wide swath of his skin seared by Electivire’s power, Wobbuffet crumpled to the ground. Electivire backed up to survey his work, only to be suddenly overcome by the purple light. Despite his best efforts to tear out of its influence, Electivire was unable to escape, and ultimately ended up falling as well.

 

“Well played!” Mercury said while sending Electivire back to his Great Ball, genuinely impressed at Team Rocket’s tactics.

 

“You ain’t seen nothing yet!”

 

Meowth charged forward, setting his sights on the briefcase containing the Meteonite shard, which Mercury had set down on the ground when the battle had begun. As soon as they realized what was happening, Mercury’s men all drew Poké Balls of their own, but it was once again Mercury herself who threw her Net Ball. Just as Meowth secured the case, a Pelipper appeared and impeded him.

 

“Outta my way, you lug!”

 

“Not with our Meteonite, Meowth. Pelipper, use Soak!”

 

Before Meowth could escape, Pelipper opened her large bill and sprayed a shower of water over Meowth. He wasn’t hurt by the attack, but he hated being covered in water and tried as hard as he could to shake it off.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

 

“Taking back what rightfully belongs to Polaris. Seed Bomb!”

 

Pelipper opened her bill again, but what came out this time was a barrage of round seeds. Meowth tried to run, but no matter which direction he took the case, he couldn’t escape. He found himself trapped within a field of small explosions that wracked his body like that of a rag doll.

 

However, something else happened in addition – the explosions threw the briefcase into the air, and while it reached the peak of its flight, it slipped open and the Meteonite shard fell out.

 

“That’s the Meteonite!” Jessie exclaimed, having recalled all her Pokémon along with James.

 

“Meowth, get it!”

 

“I’ve got this!” Meowth lunged for the rock with his arms outstretched, and surprisingly enough, he safely got under the falling Meteonite with little effort.

 

The Meteonite landed squarely in Meowth’s grasp, prompting him to smile in relief once he realized he had it. That happiness would not last long – sparks suddenly started flying from the glowing Meteonite, followed by a radiant energy blast that blinded everyone in the clearing, including Mercury and her followers.

 

At the center of it all, Meowth felt like his mind was being torn apart. Horrifying images of death and despair flashed rapidly through his imagination, and he could feel his soul warping with every vision.

 

When the light faded and both opposing factions recovered their sight, they found Meowth standing at the epicenter of the event, eyes closed and holding the Meteonite in his arms.

 

“The Meteonite became unstable again…” James immediately observed.

 

“Wait, what’s wrong with Meowth?” wondered Jessie.

 

On the other side of the clearing, Mercury knew exactly what was going on. “Meowth, come over here. Be a good boy and give us the Meteonite piece back.”

 

“Yes, as you wish…” the feline Pokémon mumbled. He turned and shuffled to Mercury to hand over the Meteonite, and it was not until then that he finally opened his eyes.

 

Meowth’s eyes were filled with red.

 

“What have you done to him?” James angrily demanded, stomping his foot into the ground hard enough to leave a relatively deep footprint.

 

“Isn’t it obvious? The Meteonite can control the minds of Pokémon! You know that! Your Meowth just exposed himself directly to its power as it became unstable, so it has changed him. He is now one of us!”

 

“That’s a lie! Meowth, you’d never betray me, right?”

 

The silence that Jessie was met with told her everything she needed to know. Something really had happened to force Meowth to switch sides.

 

“Well, I would call this a successful meeting. We’ve got the Meteonite and Team Rocket’s Meowth is now a Polaris member. I’d say it’s time for us to call it a day. Pelipper, Gunk Sh…”

 

Mercury’s final command was cut off by the sound of a speeding car. A short, black limousine came tearing into the clearing, spinning to a stop near Jessie and James, and the flash of a Poké Ball from inside released an Arbok.

 

“Arbok, Thunder Fang!” Ariana commanded from inside the car. Arbok immediately went off lunging at Pelipper, so Ariana then called to Jessie and James, “Hurry unless you want to get captured or killed!”

 

“But they got Meowth!” James yelled back.

 

Ariana let out an exasperated, exaggerated sigh. “Then I’ll have to just pick you up on my own. Arbok, Poison Tail!”

 

Pelipper was already stunned by the time Arbok brought his tail down on her. Smashed into the ground and unconscious, Pelipper would no longer be a problem for Team Rocket’s goals.

 

However, before they could do anything, Jessie and James had their path to Mercury and Meowth blocked by a Gastrodon, a Porygon2, a Sandslash and a Weavile. The four Pokémon under the ownership of Mercury’s henchmen glared menacingly at the now helpless Team Rocket members.

 

“Jessie, what do we do? We’ve got to get to him!”

 

“I-I don’t know!” Admitting helplessness was something Jessie hated doing, but the situation gave her no other choice. “Meowth, snap out of it!”

 

“If that’s the best you can do,” Mercury taunted them, “give up now. You’re in over your heads.”

 

Jessie and James both opened their mouths to respond, but before they could, Ariana’s Arbok slithered and coiled around them, then dragged them into Ariana’s car.

 

“Hurry, stop them!” Mercury ordered her subordinates.

 

Before the four Pokémon still under her squad’s command could launch any kind of attack, a weapon installed in Ariana’s car discharged a thick smokescreen. With their sight impaired, the Pokémon were powerless to prevent Team Rocket’s escape.

 

Inside the plush interior of the car, however, there was no feeling of victory. Both Jessie and James, while still trying to maintain some air of respect for their superior, felt completely outraged at what they’d been forced to do.

 

“How can you make us leave Meowth behind? They brainwashed him!”

 

“You and Dr. Zager didn’t tell us everything we needed to know!” James added. “Team Plasma? Mr. Pokémon being a Polaris member? We weren’t prepared to deal with this!”

 

Ariana kept her gaze fixed straight ahead and continued driving as she responded to them. “There are things even we didn’t know. We thought Ghetsis was the only Team Plasma member involved in this, and we had no intelligence to indicate that Mr. Pokémon was one of them. I’m sorry about Meowth, but there’s nothing we could have done back there. I’m taking you two back to Dr. Zager and we’ll talk to the boss.”

 

“Well, make it quick, because James and I are going to get him back.”

 

“We’ll make them sorry they messed with us. It’s personal now.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 6**

 

 


	7. Flying to an Unseeable Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia makes plans for her first Gym battle in Violet City, but a speech by Ghetsis and the resulting cultural upheaval derails her intentions. As an alternative, the group visits Earl’s Pokemon Academy, where Matt reunites with his sister Amanda and Olivia picks up a new rival in the form of bratty schoolgirl Avril. When the school falls under attack by Ghetsis’s henchman Zinzolin, protecting it falls to a surprising figure.

 

Jacob Alexison appears from _Nothing, Everything_ by Bay, with the original author’s permission.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 7:** Flying to an Unseeable Future

 

-:-

 

The low hum of his many machines provided a constant source of quiet sound in Dr. Zager’s laboratory. Having used many such devices for decades, he found that he had grown to be comforted by their soft noises. His mind was soothed by the unceasing din.

 

While Galvantula sat nearby gorging herself on a plate of berries Zager had given her, the doctor himself sat at his computer console, casually clicking through a message board website sporting blue message bubbles against a black background. The red script at the site’s top identified it as ‘RChannel.’

 

“How dull,” Zager said to himself as he absentmindedly scanned past multiple post threads. Many threads on RChannel talked about Pokémon training and collecting, but there were a vast number that focused on other things, ranging from discussion of television programs to bizarre posts such as a recently popular urban legend about an Aerodactyl in a graveyard.

 

However, the RChannel website had another purpose. While available to the general public as a message board, the site was actually created and run by Team Rocket; its creator had used the ridiculous but somehow correct logic that an uncontrolled forum would be the perfect cover for exchanging information and intelligence between members via the Internet. That was what Zager was scanning the site for – intelligence – and soon, he finally found it.

 

The thread’s first post, instead of being in a blue bubble, was contained within a red one; this was due to it being posted by “Admin,” the creator of RChannel.

 

“There is something I do not understand,” the post read. “Ghetsis Harmonia is a member of Polaris. That is something that anyone who watches television knows. But, he is not the only one from Team Plasma to be connected to Polaris. I saw a member of the Shadow Triad on Route 30 today. Not only that, King N of Team Plasma was there too. So what is going on? What is the true connection between Team Plasma and Polaris?”

 

“Holy shit, it’s Admin!” the next post, by ‘Slowpoke Tail,’ said. “And she’s got another crazy conspiracy theory!”

 

“Posting in epic mod thread,” added an anonymous poster.

 

“Hey Admin, Asuka or Rei?”

 

The fourth reply was by the username ‘Sam’ – Pierce’s alias – and was the first to take the topic seriously. “That is an excellent question, Admin. I do not know all of the details of Team Plasma’s relationship with Polaris, but I’ve determined that Ghetsis was likely always working on behalf of Polaris. If he was ever loyal is another question entirely. I’ll do more studying and get back to you.”

 

“That’s a good idea,” Zager spoke out loud to the screen, as if he were speaking directly to Pierce. “To defeat an enemy, you must first understand them.”

 

-:-

 

A somber tone hung over the group’s rented room at Violet City’s Pokémon Center. Bunny and Olivia sat and listlessly stared at the television in the room, which was playing a news report on several recent Pokémon Contests, while Nekou sat on her bed and quietly worked on her laptop with the headphones for her music player planted firmly in her ears.

 

The heavy, aged wooden door of the room produced a loud creak as Matt slowly entered. Almost immediately, Bunny began asking him questions.

 

“Well?” She wanted to address the subject that was weighing on all of their minds right away. “How is he?”

 

Feeling utterly exhausted, Matt took his hat off and threw it onto one of the beds, then ran his hand through his hair. “He’ll live, but he got messed up pretty bad. The dart that that ninja hit him with was tipped with a poison that caused his body to go into shock.”

 

“That guy was scary,” Olivia mumbled into the pillow she was embracing, which muffled her voice. “We’re going to be dealing with a lot like him, aren’t we?”

 

“We’ll beat them, I’m sure,” Matt immediately answered, though he was forced to quietly add, “but you’re right, there probably will be…”

 

_“In other news, we will now go to a new address delivered by the spokesman for the Polaris organization.”_

 

The pending speech seemed to be timed perfectly to match up with what Matt said, and as they focused on the television, their nerves each tightened to the breaking point. By the time Ghetsis appeared on the screen, Nekou had even taken out her headphones and folded the screen of her laptop down, turning it into a tablet computer.

 

 _“People of the Tohjo Continent, I bid you good evening. Tonight I am here to speak to you about traditions. What exactly is tradition, would you say? It is called a tradition for children to be sent out into the world and compete against each other for supremacy. With how long that tradition has stood, should we accept it?”_ Despite delivering the first part of his address calmly, Ghetsis was soon overcome by his characteristic intensity. _“No! We should not accept such a thing! We are a species capable of building a civilized society! Or, at least I thought we were. That we call the practice of sending young people into a lifestyle offering most of them no future just so we can watch their suffering a ‘tradition’ speaks to how far we have to go to truly reach civilization. That is why I call upon you all, people of this nation! Polaris shall perform a miracle to prove the validity of our drive toward true civilization! Please, support us in our endeavor! With your help, a hopeful future is ensured! Thank you for your time tonight.”_

 

“Do you think he even knows how much of a madman he sounds like?” Bunny wondered of Ghetsis.

 

“That’s not even a question. Ghetsis is a man who is fully aware of his own actions, and he delights in what he does to others.”

 

Nekou’s words didn’t soothe Olivia, who was further shaken after listening to the thundering speech. “What if he has a point, though?” she grumbled into her pillow. “Look what happened to Nikolai, and all he did was help us. Not only him, either. What about Renzo? There really might be something to what he says... I’m scared…”

 

“Olivia, you can’t think like that.” Matt tried to put on a strong face, masking his own unsettled emotions over the recent events. “Look, tomorrow you’re going for your first Badge, right? Focus on that. You finally made it to your first Gym.”

 

“Matt’s saying something smart this time,” Nekou added, putting some sarcasm in her words to lighten things up a bit. “I can tell you that Ghetsis is not a man worth listening to. I disgust myself even using the word ‘man’ to refer to a piece of shit like him.”

 

Olivia sighed and rolled over onto her side. “Maybe I’m just tired, then. Thanks for talking to me, but I want to go to bed.”

 

-:-

 

By the next day, things had brightened considerably for the group. A good night’s sleep turned out to do wonders for easing their minds after the previous day’s confrontations. They felt especially better when, once they’d all awoken, Matt went to check on Nikolai only to learn that he was rapidly recovering.

 

“That sure is a relief to know,” Matt said to his companions as they made their way into the lobby of the Pokémon Center. “After how bad a shape he was in last night, to see that he’s recovering quickly is great news.”

 

“I wonder what that toxin actually was…” Because she was mumbling to herself, Nekou’s musing went unheard.

 

“So what are we waiting for? Next stop, Violet Gym! It’s time for that first Badge!”

 

However, Olivia’s loud declaration attracted the attention of the Pokémon Center nurse, who had been standing nearby at her desk. She stepped over to the group and interrupted, “I’m sorry, but I overheard that you want to go to Violet Gym?”

 

“Yeah, why?” Olivia questioned.

 

_“With our luck, she’s about to say it’s…”_

 

“Sorry, but the Gym is closed right now. Nobody can get to it.”

 

 _“…I fucking knew it,”_ Nekou finished her thought.

 

With Olivia unable to speak further due to a mix of surprise and extreme disappointment, Matt instead asked the question on their minds. “But why? Has something happened?”

 

“Come with me, I’ll show you.”

 

The nurse stepped out from behind her desk and beckoned the four to follow her, which they did. Together, they went across the lobby, stopping at the lounge area. Once again, many people were gathered around the television there, which Matt quietly noted to himself was becoming a regular occurrence.

 

On the screen, someone was being interviewed. Both the person taking the interview and the reporter conducting it were standing in front of a large, gray building on a stone road. Around them, a large group of people were gathered, some holding signs.

 

 _“So what prompted you to come out today and join the group picketing your hometown Gym?”_ the reporter asked. Once he was done speaking, he held his microphone up to his female subject.

 

_“Well, the speeches by Polaris have really opened my eyes. I never really considered before just how many people have it bad, even though we all work hard for everything we have. There are those who have it too easy if you ask me, getting Pokémon and medical care for free while others pay for it. I want Falkner to come out here and tell us how he can participate in this. That’s why I’m here.”_

 

Immediately upon the young woman finishing speaking, the screen shifted back to the news anchor at his desk. _“We do not yet have a statement from Violet City Gym Leader Falkner addressing the protests currently taking place outside of his Gym. However, for safety purposes, the Gym has been closed until the tension dissipates.”_

 

“Well that just sucks.”

 

“Now, Olivia, look at the silver lining,” Bunny encouraged her, “at least this gives you more time to prepare for the battle.”

 

“Eh… I suppose that’s true.”

 

“Mister Chiaki? Mister Chiaki, you came to Violet City after all!”

 

Having just entered the Pokémon Center, Dominic had spotted Matt and his group almost immediately, and now rushed over to meet them with his suitcase still in his hand.

 

“Oh?” Matt failed to register immediately who he was being approached by, but seeing Dominic’s rumpled suit and tie again quickly rang the bell in his mind. “That’s right, Dominic was it? Sorry I sort of forgot...”

 

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you actually came to Violet City like we arranged!”

 

Dominic’s overflowing gratitude was a little off-putting to Matt, and even though he didn’t know it, Nekou and Olivia were a little nervous themselves. Bunny was the only one who saw him right away as the overly eager but kindhearted man he truly was.

 

“You do remember, right? I asked you to meet my kids at Earl’s Pokémon Academy?”

 

As soon as the memories of his speaking to Dominic in Cherrygrove City resurfaced in full, Matt brought his hand to his forehead in disbelief. He couldn’t understand how he’d forgotten such a simple thing.

 

“That’s right, I do remember now. Olivia, if I might say… with the Gym closed, going to the Academy might be a productive way to spend the day.”

 

“It’s better than nothing,” replied the girl, her facial features becoming hardened with determination. “Let’s do it!”

 

“And don’t forget me,” Nekou chimed in, tossing herself over Matt’s shoulders, much to his visible discomfort. “Remember what I get there. Books. One of my six basic food groups.”

 

“And what are the other five?”

 

“Bacon, hamburgers, potato chips, chocolate and beer.”

 

Matt sighed, quickly realizing that asking Nekou such a question was probably a mistake.

 

“I’m glad that you’re all on board, then,” Dominic said with a smile. “I think you’ll all enjoy visiting there.”

 

-:-

 

“Now this is truly a surprise!” Stepping away from one of the glass-surfaced tables in the laboratory, the mustachioed scientist spread his arms as he welcomed his guests. “To think Father sent us not one but two of the Sacred Helix’s Chromosomes. Today must be an especially important day!”

 

“Father still hasn’t come back, actually,” Mercury corrected him. “Right now Finansielle is giving directions, and Archer is holding down Father’s seat on the Sacred Helix.”

 

“I see. Well then, let’s have a look at that stone you brought.”

 

Standing next to Mercury, Séduire – the Entei-masked Chromosome who wore a school-themed uniform with a skirt and bow tie – wordlessly presented the scientist with the briefcase passed on from Mr. Pokémon. He eagerly accepted it and took it over to one of the tables, where he opened it.

 

“Be careful with handling the Meteonite,” Mercury warned. “If it destabilizes, you might end up like this.” As she finished speaking, she gestured down to Meowth, who was listlessly standing next to her.

 

The scientist took a magnifying lens out of the pocket of his brown suit and leaned in to look at the Meteonite. “This is the real deal, alright. It’s beautiful!” Sitting back up, he questioned, “So what’s the next step?”

 

“That small Meteonite is going to lead us to the large one that crashed here several weeks ago. For that, we’re going to need your maps of the Ruins so we can navigate to the point it shows us.”

 

“Yeah, that’s going to be a problem,” the scientist responded, frowning. “Something strange has gone on since the Meteonite landed here. It agitated all the Unown, and they used their reality-warping powers to change the structure of the Ruins of Alph. All the maps we had are obsolete now.”

 

“I guess we’ll be going in blindly, then. Thankfully Meteonite will react to itself, so we can use the small amount we have to track down the payload. We’ve got just the equipment for the job, too.”

 

“What’s my assignment in all of this?” Séduire piped up for the first time. “Should I stop Matt from bothering you, Mercury?”

 

“No, I need you and your henchmen with my team. The Ruins of Alph are a lot more vast than one would expect, and they hold untold dangers, especially now that the Unown rearranged everything. You’ll get a chance to see him soon enough.”

 

“Promise me that. Mercury, promise me I’ll see Matt again soon… I have to save him…”

 

“Focus on the task at hand, Séduire. Remember that one day we’ll all be saved.”

 

-:-

 

Dominic led the way, guiding Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny into the lobby of Earl’s Pokémon Academy. The lobby was cluttered with cases containing medals and photographs belonging to graduates of the school, many of whom had gone on to high-profile careers as trainers.

 

“This is the premiere facility for Pokémon training education in the Tohjo Continent,” the salesman explained. He gestured to the wall, guiding the others’ eyes to the awards lining it. “You can’t beat this place as a school.”

 

“I’d beg to differ,” Matt contradicted him. “I spent some time working at the Rustboro School with a very generous research grant.”

 

“I wasn’t meaning to offend you at all, please forgive me.”

 

“Is that good old Dominic I hear?” The voice echoing down the hall was loud and rich, giving itself such strength that it shook the walls. A large man in a blue suit came bounding out into the lobby with heavy steps; his boisterous demeanor surprised all of Dominic’s guests. “Welcome back, my dear Dominic! I see you’ve brought guests, just as you said earlier!”

 

“Well, um… yes, Mr. Dervish, sir. Please…” Dominic turned to the others as he continued, “…allow me to introduce you. This is Matt Chiaki, and…”

 

“Oh!!” The rotund man charged right past Dominic, effectively silencing him, and got right in Matt’s face. Matt started sweating and his nerves only frayed further when he realized that his hands were being grasped. “Sutter’s grandson! Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Earl Dervish, and I’m in charge of this Pokémon academy. It is truly an honor to have the grandson of the world’s most legendary archeologist in my school!”

 

“It would be nice to get credit for some of the things I’ve done myself once in a while,” Matt nervously chuckled in an awkward attempt to inject humor into the situation.

 

“But of course.” Turning his attention to Olivia, Nekou and Bunny, who were all standing by in varying degrees of shock and bemusement, Earl asked, “And who might these three be?”

 

“This is Olivia. She’s my friend’s daughter, and I’m mentoring her. That’s Bunny, my old colleague, and this is my… well, somehow she ended up being my bodyguard, and her name is Nekou.”

 

“Talk about a spectacle,” Nekou mumbled under her breath.

 

“Well met, Olivia, Bunny, Nekou. Now, please, all of you, come with me! Dominic, your kids are already waiting for us in my office. They ought to be glad to see your friends. And Matt, fate’s brought you quite a surprise today, too!”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“You will see, my friend! Onward!”

 

-:-

 

Concordia and Anthea screamed as Chaos’s limp body crashed into the forcefield wall of their prison. They’d been snapped out of their usual blank states by the fury Ghetsis had worked himself into.

 

“You had him right in front of you and YOU LET HIM GO?!” Ghetsis picked Chaos up by the neck again, much like how he had done before throwing him, and slammed him into the barrier a second time. “That warped boy is key to my rise!”

 

“P-please forgive me, L-Lord Ghetsis…” It was a struggle for Chaos to speak with Ghetsis’s hand around his neck. “I was… ambushed. It would have taken all three of us…”

 

“I’ll have none of it!”

 

Whipping around, Ghetsis flung Chaos across the floor, leaving him in a crumpled heap. He then lurched over to the ninja and pinned the white-haired man’s head under the end of his cane.

 

“Matt Chiaki and his friends… that woman is not natural… I almost had to use the genetic suppressant on her to get her off me…”

 

“Finally, you say something actually useful,” fumed Ghetsis as he removed his cane from Chaos’s cheek. Moving toward the door, he said out loud without looking over his shoulder, “I’ll have Matt Chiaki dealt with before he ever becomes a problem to me.” He then turned the very top of his cane’s handle to trigger a mechanism inside, and held the knob up near his mouth. “Zinzolin!”

 

 _“Lord Ghetsis!”_ responded a rough, ragged voice from the other end of the communicator.

 

“Give me an update on the status of the protest.”

 

_“It’s progressing nicely. The people of Violet City have taken your words to heart and are demanding answers from Gym Leader Falkner. He hasn’t come out yet, in fact, his only response has been to shut down the Gym for the day.”_

 

“We’ll worry about him later. Listen, I’ve got a new mission for you. It turns out that our little prince is in the Pokémon Center in Violet City. Before you collect him, though, I want you to find Matt Chiaki and take him out. Do what you must to complete the mission.”

 

_“Consider it done, Lord Ghetsis.”_

 

-:-

 

Much like the lobby of his school, Earl’s office was a cluttered place. Books and folders were scattered about the office, while still more award certificates lined the walls.

 

The door of the office groaned heavily as Earl pushed it open to allow himself and his guests inside. Almost immediately, the three students waiting within jumped up, greeting the group as they came in; one of the two girls in the trio had a significantly delayed reaction, as if she failed to notice anything until the others had risen.

 

“Welcome back, Dad!” the girl who had gotten up immediately exclaimed. “Did you get what you promised us?”

 

“I always keep my promises, Avril,” Dominic cheerfully replied. “I promised a surprise, and here

he is!”

 

Realizing after a brief moment that Dominic was referring to him as the surprise, Matt shrugged and sighed, “So you promised them you’d convince me to come here, eh?”

 

“You all get caught up.” Earl clapped one of his large hands on Matt’s shoulder and the other on Dominic’s, then lumbered over to his desk, which was just as messy as the rest of his office. He pressed the button on the desk’s intercom system and said into it, “Would the teacher of Class 2-A come to my office, please?”

 

“So these are your kids, then, Dominic?”

 

“Indeed, Matt, they are. Please, meet Avril, my youngest…” Dominic gestured first to the girl who had verbally greeted him. Like the others, she was wearing a blue-and-black school uniform, and despite being the youngest of Dominic’s three children, she physically looked at least two years older than Olivia.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said to Matt, her voice carrying an innate sound of confidence bordering on arrogance. “Your battle at the Battle Arcade was very entertaining to watch.”

 

“And this is Monroe, the middle of the three…”

 

The boy was much more timid in nature than his sister. He made little of an attempt to directly engage Matt or anyone else, merely saying in a shaky voice, “H-Hello.”

 

“And finally, my oldest, Helena.”

 

The eldest of the three, Helena, towered over her siblings. She stood calmly by, running her hand through her red hair, not speaking at first.

 

It was then that Matt finally realized that Monroe was signing rapidly to her, communicating everything going on in a flurry of masterful hand motions.

 

“She’s deaf?” Bunny spoke, putting words to the feeling of surprise the group of four shared.

 

“Since birth.”

 

Each of Helena’s steps was slow and measured, carrying a dignified air. She directly approached Matt and extended a hand to him.

 

“I am honored to meet you, sir.”

 

The mere fact that Helena was able to speak was enough shock Matt still, but beyond that, her voice was surprisingly smooth and refined, capturing her ladylike demeanor perfectly. Matt eventually did manage to shake her hand, but his surprise didn’t wear off, and he directed a puzzled gaze over toward Dominic.

 

Understanding immediately what Matt was confused by, Dominic beckoned him over and quietly explained, “She didn’t want to let her disability stop her from speaking normally, so I got some Psychic-type Pokémon to help me teach her how. It wasn’t easy, and either Avril or Monroe signs for her when they can, but I’m very proud of her and all the work she did to overcome it.”

 

Meanwhile, while Matt and Dominic were talking, Helena had turned her attention to Nekou. “I like your necklace,” she said, pointing at the piece of jewelry around Nekou’s neck.

 

“What? Oh, this.” Nekou briefly flinched, but she quickly recovered and lifted the pendant from her chest to show it off. Its gem was in the shape of an eight-pointed star whose upper diagonal points were colored red, lower diagonal points shaded light blue and four straight points hued in dark purple. “It’s very precious to me. I got it in Whitegold City.”

 

Monroe quickly signed to interpret Nekou’s words for Helena, and once she understood what was said, she smiled warmly. “It’s a Victory Star, then. It’s very pretty.”

 

Just then, the sound of something tapping against the office’s door interrupted the conversation. Whatever caused the mysterious noise persistently tapped against the door for a few seconds, before abruptly stopping. The handle turned, and the door opened to allow a woman inside. The source of the tapping turned out to be her walking stick, which provided her with the sense of her surroundings that her cloudy eyes could not give her. She had striking blue hair that curled down her back like clouds, and an Arcanine was walking closely by her side for additional support.

 

“You called me, Earl?”

 

“Amanda!” Matt instantly gasped, having been overcome by pleasant surprise.

 

“Big brother!” Amanda’s emotions rose in a very similar fashion. She first sharply turned her head in the direction of Matt’s voice, then rushed in his direction, crashing into him in a reckless attempt at an embrace.

 

“See? I told you I had a surprise for you!” Earl said jovially. “A reunion of brother and sister!”

 

“Miss Chiaki is the little sister of Matt Chiaki after all,” Avril said out loud. “Now I believe it.”

 

“Amanda, you’re a teacher here now?” This question was the only coherent thing that came to Matt’s mind right away. He was so internally consumed by emotions – joy in seeing his sister for the first time in a while, pride in the accomplishments she’d been implied to have made, sadness that she still struggled with her blindness – that he couldn’t put many words to those thoughts.

 

Separating herself from her brother, Amanda gently shook her head. “Not permanently. I’m just taking some time to do something on my own for a while.”

 

“But you didn’t tell your students you’re Matt’s sister?” Olivia suddenly piped up.

 

“Huh?” Amanda turned her head in confusion, trying to perceive where the voice was coming from. “Olivia?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

 

“Several years now,” Amanda replied with a smile. “Anyway, I didn’t tell Avril and my other students about my brother because I didn’t want to live in his shadow. I wanted them to look up to me because they wanted to, not because of who my brother is.”

 

“Aw, come on, Amanda, don’t give me that much credit,” Matt chuckled in an attempt to sound humble. “All of us know you’re far more skilled as a trainer than I am.”

 

“You know what would be inspiring to my students? Let’s you and I show them a battle between the two of us! You really are better than you give yourself credit for!”

 

“That’s a great idea!” Earl quickly interrupted. “I’ll run ahead and get everything set in the outdoor battlefield!”

 

Bounding across the office, Earl was gone in a flash, leaving a mass of exasperation in his wake. Even Dominic found himself a bit stunned at the headmaster’s enthusiasm.

 

“I guess my answer is yes,” Matt sighed. “It doesn’t matter, though. I was going to say yes anyway.”

 

“Matt, you don’t stand a chance. Not even my dad could beat Amanda, remember?”

 

Closing his eyes, Matt thought back to five years earlier. Back then, Amanda had been the champion of a regional competition, and Olivia’s father Rich earned the chance to battle her. He failed completely against Amanda, however, at least in no small part because of her tactics throwing him off. She had in her team of Pokémon a Zoroark, a Pokémon with powers of illusion. Those powers made it possible for her to disguise the Dark-type Zoroark as a Hariyama, which drew Rich into attempting repeatedly to damage what he believed was a Fighting-type Pokémon. Amanda ended up winning the match without losing a single one of her Pokémon.

 

“Well, at least this time I know she has Zoroark,” he finally said, slowly reopening his eyes. “Rich had no idea what he was up against.”

 

“Wait, before we go…” Dominic spoke up, “would you be willing to see the Pokémon my kids have as well?”

 

“I would like to,” answered Olivia. “Matt, hold up.”

 

“I see someone hasn’t changed much,” Amanda said, smiling once again. “Avril, Monroe and Helena have some interesting Pokémon. I think you’ll like them.”

 

“May I go first?” Helena volunteered, having stayed fully updated on the situation through Monroe’s signing. “Klink, come out!”

 

Helena took the single Poké Ball she possessed from her waist and opened it, producing a burst of energy. The Pokémon it turned into had the form of two interlocking silver gears with six teeth and a simple face on each gear.

 

“It looks familiar, but not exactly like what I remember…” Olivia commented as she took out her Pokédex.

 

_“Klink, the Gear Pokémon. Type is Steel. Two bodies comprise a fixed pair. They spin around each other to generate energy.”_

 

“I know, it’s a previous evolution of Klinklang,” Bunny guessed.

 

“That’s correct!” Helena confirmed once she was aware of what Bunny had said. “Do you like my Klink? It’s been my friend for a long time now.”

 

“It’s cute, and it should be strong once it evolves. I’d like to battle you later on.”

 

“I’ll look forward to that day, Olivia.”

 

“I… guess I’m next.” Monroe’s manner continued to be as timid as ever, even as he opened up his own Poké Ball. “Vanillite, I ask you to come out.”

 

Whereas Klink was fairly straightforward in appearance, Monroe’s Vanillite was more unusual, appearing to be a small ice cream cone with a wide-eyed, smiling face on top of a body made of ice and snow.

 

_“Vanillite, the Fresh Snow Pokémon. Type is Ice. Theoretically, this Pokémon formed from icicles bathed in energy from the morning sun. Their breath is -58° F.”_

 

Another difference between Vanillite and Klink was that Vanillite was a lot more outgoing, floating right up to Olivia and laughing.

 

“Aren’t you a cute one?” she said to the Ice-type, laughing along with her. “I just love you!”

 

“Thank you…”

 

Avril scoffed at the praise Olivia was heaping upon her brother. “If you think that thing is a good Pokémon, wait until you put your eyes on what I’ve got. Servine, go!”

 

Much like his trainer, the green, vaguely serpentine Pokémon that emerged from Avril’s Poké Ball had a haughty, arrogant air about himself. Balancing on tiny legs, he stretched his body to its full height and cast a scornful look downward upon Klink and Vanillite.

 

_“Servine, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Type is Grass. Evolved form of Snivy, When it gets dirty, its leaves can't be used in photosynthesis, so it always keeps itself clean.”_

 

“Wait a minute…” Remembering something, Olivia hesitated. “Snivy was one of the three Pokémon Professor Juniper said she could offer me, but it specifically was missing. Are you the one who got Snivy?”

 

“The one and only.” Putting her hands on her hips, Avril leaned forward and smugly asked, “Did you get stuck with one of those _inferior_ ones that were left?”

 

“He is not inferior!”

 

“Then let’s see him.”

 

Without a second thought, Olivia pressed the button to open Oshawott’s Poké Ball. He materialized looking sleepy and still missing his shell, prompting both Avril and her Servine to laugh.

 

“Wow, you didn’t even take the good one,” she taunted, “but then again, someone who’s childish in both body and spirit taking a childish Pokémon makes sense!”

 

“Avril!” Dominic snapped, showing a seriousness that he hadn’t before. “Behave yourself!”

 

“Fine, fine. But let me ask one thing. What happened to its shell?”

 

“It got broken in a battle with a Gurdurr yesterday.”

 

Avril managed to suppress another outburst of laughing into little more than a snicker, and she walked toward the door with Servine. “You better pay attention outside and learn something, because you’re gonna need it.”

 

With that, Avril and Servine left Earl’s office, letting the door slam behind them as they departed. Their sudden exit left Olivia seething in silence over the flood of condescending insults she’d just faced.

 

“Please, accept my apologies,” Dominic hurriedly said as he too went for the door. “I’ll deal with her.”

 

“Is she always like this?” Matt questioned once Dominic was out the door.

 

“It wouldn’t be proper of me to discuss that in front of so many people,” Amanda replied.

 

“Oh, well, I understand. Let’s just go meet up with Earl then.”

 

As the remaining group headed out, Monroe approached Olivia. “I’m sorry about my sister. She gets really mean a lot.”

 

“Yeah, I figured.” Though she initially didn’t look at him, Olivia did eventually turn to Monroe. “Thanks for that.”

 

-:-

 

Outside, next to the school building, there was a small battlefield, flanked by a three-tiered bleacher structure. The children comprising Amanda’s class filled said bleachers; Avril, Helena and Monroe were all sitting together in the front row, with Klink, Vanillite and Servine nearby, while Olivia, Nekou and Bunny were nearby.

 

Matt and Amanda, meanwhile, each stood in squares on opposing sides of a battlefield etched in white paint on the grass. Having taken on the role of referee for the match, Dominic positioned himself at a point near the middle of the battleground, while Earl stood, arms crossed, next to the students in the stands.

 

“This battle will be between Pokémon Academy instructor Amanda and her challenger, Matt!” Dominic announced to the onlookers. “It will be a full six-on-six Double Battle that ends when all of one side’s Pokémon have fainted. Begin!”

 

“I’ll take the lead!” Amanda forcefully declared, shedding her quiet demeanor from earlier. “Big brother, see if you can keep up with me! Hariyama, Arcanine, come into the light!”

 

Amanda, despite her inability to see, had no difficulty taking two Poké Balls from the waist of her gray suit and throwing them. Two large-bodied Pokémon, Hariyama and Arcanine, appeared from them and landed, crashing their immense weight into the ground. Hariyama growled and struck a pose to show off his readiness for battle, and Arcanine simply howled. Both had an air of great discipline.

 

“Boy, Amanda, you sure aren’t going easy on me, are you?”

 

“Of course not, so don’t you go easy on me either!”

 

Matt took a step back. In the very back of his head, behind how much he admired Amanda’s courageous attitude, he actually felt somewhat intimidated by having to face her.

 

“F-fine, I won’t go easy at all!” he sputtered, throwing out a regular Poké Ball alongside a Dusk Ball. “Hethna and Tanya, make your mark!”

 

Two more large, heavy Pokémon – Matt’s Golurk and Heatran – entered the battle to oppose Amanda’s pair. Both of them appreciated their opponents on equal footing with themselves, although Hethna – whom Matt had only recently captured, and thus did not know Amanda or her Pokémon – immediately was overcome with an instinct to defend its trainer and allies from what it perceived as threats.

 

The students in the stands started cheering and talking excitedly over the Pokémon they were seeing, especially Heatran, a minor Legendary Pokémon. From his vantage point next to the bleachers, Earl found himself lost in thought.

 

_“If he were still with us, Sutter would be proud. His grandkids are sure putting on a hell of a show for these kids.”_

 

“Arcanine, Close Combat!”

 

Before Matt could react, Amanda’s Arcanine was on top of Tanya, striking her with a flurry of vicious blows. Each hit was fueled by the powerful muscles in Arcanine’s legs, lending the assault enough strength to not only shove the nearly half-ton Heatran back significantly, but to also break chips out of her steel armor. All of this came at the price of leaving Arcanine worn out and panting for air, his body weakened against any potential counterattacks.

 

“Tanya, hold steady!” Having his Heatran put on the defensive so quickly was not the scenario Matt had envisioned at the start of the battle.

 

“Are you already beaten, big brother?” Amanda taunted him, albeit in her usual endearing way. “Don’t tell me it’s over already!”

 

“It’s nowhere near over, Amanda. Try this on for size! Tanya, target Arcanine with Earth Power! Hethna, get Hariyama with Shadow Punch!”

 

“Hurry, Hariyama, use Role Play on Hethna!”

 

Orange light radiated from Tanya’s feet, indicative of the energy that soon surged through the ground and exploded beneath Arcanine, cracking the earth and pitching the imposing Fire-type onto his side.

 

Amanda could perceive her Pokémon’s injury even without seeing it by the howl of pain he let out. “Arcanine, hold firm...” she whispered.

 

Meanwhile, Hariyama extended one of his arms in Hethna’s direction and briefly became enveloped in a Golurk-shaped shadow. The real Golurk struck Hariyama cleanly in the stomach with a blast of shadow shaped like a clenched fist that came from its own arm.

 

“Hm,” Matt grunted, calculating exactly what Amanda was planning. As soon as he realized what she had just done, his mind and heart began to race. “Hurry, both of you!” he called out, gesturing wildly all the while. “Stop Hariyama with Flash Cannon and Shadow Punch!”

 

“Big brother, don’t underestimate me for even a moment!” Amanda shouted while tightening her grip on her walking stick. “Arcanine, strike Hethna with Flare Blitz! Hariyama, take Tanya head-on with DynamicPunch!”

 

All four Pokémon made their moves nearly simultaneously as chaos broke out on the battlefield. Amanda’s Arcanine was the first to land a blow, roaring through the clash in a veil of fire to collide with Hethna, knocking the Golurk onto its back and inadvertently dissipating its Shadow Punch.

 

While Arcanine collapsed onto Hethna, Tanya managed to take aim at Hariyama and launch a wide beam of bright, shining silver light. Hariyama was undeterred by any possible danger this presented, however, and simply charged right into it with his right arm pulled back. Slowly but surely, he pushed through the continuing assault of Tanya’s Flash Cannon, and once she was within his reach, he swung with all his might.

 

The resulting collision of Hariyama’s fist with Tanya’s face caused a loud, echoing metallic sound to ring through the area. Despite her immense weight, Tanya ended up getting flung through the air like a ragdoll, ultimately crashing into and crushing a nearby tree. She slumped down onto the ground and stopped moving.

 

“Heatran is unable to continue battling!” Dominic announced, his voice somewhat drowned out by the excited chatter of the students behind him.

 

“Amanda just tossed aside a Legendary Pokémon like that...” Bunny said in awe. “She really is strong…”

 

“I wonder how she got to be so much more powerful than Matt is,” Nekou scoffed, taking a bite out of the frosted croissant in her hand.

 

“Well, I do think he’s doing a little better than my dad did against her,” Olivia offered in Matt’s defense.

 

“Tanya, return!” As Matt sent Tanya back inside her Dusk Ball and returned the sphere to his bag, Hethna rose back to its feet, its chest covered with a large burn mark. “Amanda, that was… really something. You figured out that Hethna’s ability is Iron Fist?”

 

“I had a hunch. I knew that if I copied Hethna’s ability and it turned out to be Iron Fist, defeating Tanya would be no big deal at all.”

 

“I shouldn’t have put it past you,” he said, smiling. Having come to view Amanda as a true opponent and not just his sister, Matt narrowed his focus off of the spectators and resolved to at least give her a challenge.

 

Before he could throw the Poké Ball he’d selected, Matt found himself overcome by a sudden blast of cold air. His body immediately began to spasm.

 

“Wh...what…”

 

“What’s goi…”

 

Running with only her sight, Helena had already traced the source of the disruption. She pointed into the air and unwittingly interrupted Bunny by yelling, “Up there!”

 

“Shit!” Nekou spat once she saw the blue blur in the sky above Matt. “Get out of there!”

 

As Matt was unable to move due to the cold, Nekou sprinted in and dragged him off to the bleachers, where Bunny and Olivia immediately clustered around him. Dominic, meanwhile, climbed to shield his three children in the stands themselves.

 

Amanda, meanwhile, was lost. Without her ability to see what was going on, she was completely in the dark, as all she could hear was the increasingly loud confusion of her students. “Big brother!” she called out, “what’s going on? Earl?!”

 

“Amanda, shield yourself!” was all Earl could shout back.

 

The blur had since stopped spinning, revealing itself as a hexagonal snowflake Pokémon with a body of reflective blue ice. Two glowing eyes peered out from inside its body, and chains of ice crystals hung from its mouth.

 

“Cryo-gonal!” it cried in a voice that sounded as if it were electronically distorted. Setting its eyes on Amanda, the Cryogonal took a deep breath and expelled another gust of icy air. However, Arcanine, Hariyama and Hethna all jumped into action, leaping between Amanda and Cryogonal to protect her from the Frost Breath attack.

 

Once she appeared safe, Earl hurried to Amanda’s side. The students in the stands by this point had all seen Cryogonal and were rapidly becoming more and more unsettled.

 

“What…?” Matt groaned as he gradually came to. “Where’d that cold air come from?”

 

“That Cryogonal,” Olivia pointed out, breaking from the circle surrounding Matt so she could point to the floating Ice-type Pokémon. “It looks different than the one we saw before, though…”

 

“What’s a wild Cryogonal doing here?” Monroe asked Avril, before signing the same question to Helena.

 

“I don’t think that’s a wild Cryogonal,” Avril replied almost immediately, pointing off in the direction where the Cryogonal had seemingly come from.

 

Having breached the fence on the edge of the school’s property, the crowd of protesters who had been picketing Violet Gym earlier in the day advanced toward the battlefield. Leading them was a stout, elderly man wrapped in a thick purple coat whose heavy boots left deep footprints behind in the ground. At his side walked a Jynx and a Weavile, and Cryogonal soon joined them.

 

“Zinzolin…” Nekou quietly seethed, her voice not rising above a whisper.

 

“H-huh?” Matt’s shivering was slowly subsiding, but he was still far from well.

 

“He’s another of Ghetsis’s goons.” Standing, Nekou stared at Zinzolin and angrily added, “These fucking guys keep coming, and they’re clearly involved with Polaris...”

 

Zinzolin stopped his advance once he was nearly on the battlefield and turned around. In his thickly-gloved hand, he had a megaphone that he raised to his mouth. “Halt!”

 

The somewhat-civil mob of protesters following him heeded his order and stopped as well. They continued making a significant amount of noise with their attempts to shout over each other, but they remained more or less in line.

 

“Before you stands a symbol of the system that has so corrupted our way of life,” Zinzolin explained to the protesters through his megaphone. “Earl’s Pokémon Academy… it is merely a factory to which we supply the raw materials of our children and they are manufactured into the next generation of believers in the ideal of becoming Pokémon masters! Consider how many of them fall by the wayside, forever struggling in the wilderness if they’re even lucky enough to survive... that a place like this would even exist to introduce our children into such a system is preposterous!”

 

While he was not quite as eloquent as Ghetsis, Zinzolin more than held his own as a speaker. His words held the attention of the protesters, whose internal discussion grew in volume as Zinzolin turned slowly to face Matt and the others.

 

“And look who is pushing these ideas into innocent young minds… two people who have so little regard for the divine grace of life that they have fouled their bodies using modifications of modern technology. Indeed, Matt and Amanda Chiaki have straddled the boundary of life and death!”

 

“Silence yourself!” At long last, Amanda shot something back at Zinzolin. Even though she wasn’t directing her blank eyes directly at him, she clearly had a basic idea of where he was standing. “What you say is false! Because big brother and I have suffered and used what we could to recover does not make us bad people. Ask any of my students, who until you ruined it were having quite a pleasurable class today!”

 

“I see you have some fighting spirit in you. How curious. But, what good would asking any of your students accomplish? Their minds are already poisoned by your lies.”

 

“We will battle, then…” Amanda growled at the strangely-clothed old man, “…and when I defeat you, you will leave.”

 

“Don’t count your Torchic before they hatch, girl.” Zinzolin had begun plucking more of his Poké Balls from the black bands wrapping around his coat. “I am not the right hand of Polaris’s spokesman for nothing!”

 

With that, Zinzolin threw the three remaining Poké Balls. One of them was a blue-and-red Great Ball, which released a Glalie. The two others were regular Poké Balls, one containing an Empoleon and the other letting out a Pokémon that looked like a bigger Vanillite.

 

“He has Vanillish, Miss Chiaki!” Monroe called to Amanda. “Vanillite’s evolved form!”

 

“Those Torchic aren’t just already hatched,” Amanda sternly reproached her adversary, “they hatched, matured and laid eggs of their own. Take this!”

 

Amanda called forth her remaining four Pokémon to join Hariyama and Arcanine. A Snorlax appeared, as did a Gothitelle, who was a feminine, humanoid creature who appeared to be wearing a black dress with many conical sections and white bows. She also possessed a Pokémon very similar to Vanillite and Vanillish but with two heads, with a straw-like protrusion coming from one. Her final Pokémon was her Zoroark, who was a fox Pokémon with a lean black body and a thick black-and-red mane.

 

“We of Polaris stand for the people,” Zinzolin declared. “Bring your worst!”

 

“Gladly! I’ll make you regret asking for it! Zoroark, use Flamethrower, and Arcanine, use Wild Charge!”

 

“Cryogonal, bring in Hail! Glalie, follow with Blizzard!”

 

Amanda’s Arcanine shrouded himself in sparking yellow electricity and forcefully tackled Empoleon, who made no effort to dodge. This was to buy time for Cryogonal, who was flying overhead, to cry out to the sky. That cry caused dark clouds to gather, which in turn soon gave rise to a steady hailstorm.

 

These conditions made it ideal for Glalie’s move, as the hailstorm gave greater range to his icy blast. Zoroark dropped her budding Flamethrower and instead formed a shield of glowing hexagons of light in front of herself. Despite this, Amanda’s other Pokémon still were subject to the harsh attack, but they all weathered it well, at least on an immediately apparent level.

 

Meanwhile, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia clustered even more tightly around Matt, who was shivering and beginning to lapse out of consciousness from the persistent cold.

 

“Don’t you black out on me!” Nekou yelled at him. “You can’t just let a little fucking cold stop you!”

 

“Zoroark, stay over by big brother and use Protect to keep him from getting colder,” Amanda said, having heard Nekou’s shouting. Zoroark immediately followed this direction, freeing up Amanda’s attention so she could once again focus on the battle. “Snorlax, Heavy Slam! Vanilluxe, Signal Beam!”

 

“Don’t get overconfident! Jynx, use Sweet Kiss!”

 

A glowing light in the shape of a pair of lips emerged from Jynx’s face and washed over Amanda’s Snorlax as he stood, leaving him wobbling in confusion. He overcame it, though, and managed to leap high into the air. Alongside him, Amanda’s ice cream-like Vanilluxe gathered energy at the tip of her straw and fired a rainbow-colored beam from it.

 

Seeing these two attacks barreling toward his Pokémon, Zinzolin hastily ordered, “Weavile and Empoleon, block those with Blizzard and Drill Peck!”

 

Weavile opened her mouth and exhaled an icy gale right into the Signal Beam heading her way, while Empoleon leapt into the air while spinning rapidly, hoping to deflect Snorlax away from Jynx. Neither counter worked, however, and both Weavile and Empoleon were struck down. Snorlax then landed squarely on Jynx, crushing her under his immense weight. His weight, combined with the fact that Heavy Slam was a Steel-type move and thus super-effective on the partially Ice-type Jynx, left her completely unconscious when Snorlax rolled over off of her.

 

Zinzolin grunted, then recalled Jynx while Amanda called Snorlax back herself. “Well played, curious trainer. But, this is not yet over. It’s about time I showed you the true power Polar…”

 

“Gothitelle, attack Empoleon with Thunderbolt!” Amanda called out, interrupting Zinzolin’s attempt at a lecture.

 

“Goth-ii!” Gothitelle shrilled in her deep, womanly voice. Lightning shot out from her body and arced through the air, ultimately making contact with and electrocuting Empoleon. Due to the accidental damage Empoleon had suffered during his attempt at stopping Snorlax, he couldn’t weather Thunderbolt, and he collapsed.

 

“You were saying?” Amanda taunted a moment later.

 

“You will not stand in the way of progress, abomination!” fumed Zinzolin as he recalled a Pokémon for the second time in less than a minute. “It’s time I opened up another front in this battle,” he stated, turning his head to Amanda herself. “Cryogonal, Flash Cannon. Weavile, Glalie, use Blizzard. Vanillish, Ice Beam. All of you, target that monster brainwashing these children!”

 

Amanda immediately gasped in horror; this was what it took to finally cause her to panic. “You won’t hurt my students!!” she screamed, apparently misunderstanding Zinzolin’s intentions and not realizing that he was targeting her. “Arcanine, Hariyama, Gothitelle, Vanilluxe, stop them!”

 

Amanda’s Pokémon, however, were too slow to respond. Zinzolin’s four remaining Pokémon all powered up and released their attacks simultaneously in the blink of an eye.

 

Seeing the combined strength of two Blizzards, a Flash Cannon and an Ice Beam going towards their teacher, some of the students began fleeing while screaming in fear, while others froze up and didn’t know what to do. Dominic pulled Avril, Helena and Monroe close, intending to shield them himself if he had to.

 

Thankfully, it never came to that. Hethna lurched in between Amanda and Zinzolin’s assault, taking all the power infused in the four attacks itself. Hethna couldn’t stand up any longer after taking so many powerful hits at once, and wobbled back and forth briefly before falling forward, its front completely covered in ice.

 

Amanda’s Pokémon charged forward at their enemies, who were now left wide open. Hariyama attacked first by sending a barrage of jagged stones at Weavile. He then played a second use when Arcanine leaped off his head to gain the altitude necessary to hit Cryogonal with the blazing body slam of Flare Blitz. Glalie ended up the target of both Gothitelle and Vanilluxe, who double-teamed him using Psyshock and a red, pulsing Hyper Beam.

 

“H-How dare you!” Zinzolin sputtered in indignation, having to recall his fainted Glalie, Weavile and Cryogonal all at once. “I will defeat you! I still have Vanillish!”

 

“It’s over now. Zoroark!”

 

All too suddenly, Zinzolin realized the critical error he’d made – he had written off Zoroark for participation in the battle even though she was standing on the sidelines, ready to go at a moment’s notice. He could only watch as Zoroark landed right in front of Vanillish and hit him with a point-blank Flamethrower, rendering him fainted as well.

 

“I…I…” For a brief moment, Zinzolin had visibly lost his nerve. His hands were shaking, and he bent over as if he were about to fall. He quickly recovered his composure, though, and took a deep breath before recalling Vanillish. “I have failed, and Lord Ghetsis will not be pleased with me. But do not let it be said that I am not a man of my word.”

 

Turning back to the now-stunned protesters, Zinzolin once again raised his megaphone to his mouth.

 

“Today’s protest is now concluded. Please, return to your homes and your ordinary lives. Polaris will speak to you again soon.”

 

The protesters briefly became paralyzed by a collective sense of confusion as they attempted to understand what had just happened. “What about Falkner?” a man in the crowd called out.

 

“It may be true that we have not yet obtained a statement from a Gym Leader addressing our concerns,” Zinzolin replied, “but we have effectively put our ideals upon a national stage. Be proud of what you accomplished today.”

 

With their concerns largely soothed by Zinzolin’s explanation, the protesters slowly dispersed, heading back into the city one by one.

 

Coming around to a sense of satisfaction with his work, Zinzolin started to leave as well. He was forced to stop, however, when he felt a hand grasping the back of his head.

 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Nekou whispered to the old sage, digging her fingernails into his scalp ever so slightly. “At least, not until you tell me what’s going on.”

 

“What makes you think I’d ever tell one of you people anything?” Zinzolin didn’t even seem slightly afraid. In fact, he looked relaxed. “You people are just common criminals with no larger sense of purpose beyond personal gain. We stand for justice in society.”

 

“We have ways of making life very painful for you if you don’t give us the intel we want. Oh, and don’t lecture me about taking things for personal gain. The way I live is none of your fucking business.” Tightening her grip on his head, she sneered, “Now talk.”

 

“Hah! The suffering that comes through life is what makes me feel alive in the first place. There’s nothing one of you street thugs could do that would make me talk. I’d lay down my life in the service of Lord Ghetsis before I would ever help one of you.”

 

“Have it your way.”

 

“I know you haven’t got it in you to voluntarily kill me,” he said, even while feeling Nekou scratching his head even further, “so let me go now and let’s end this farce.”

 

“Nekou, just let him go. He’s useless to us anyway.”

 

Matt had approached Nekou without notice, and she struggled with what he said. Finally, she accepted that he was right about Zinzolin’s uselessness and released the elderly Polaris member from her grasp.

 

“I don’t know if you’re one of them too or not,” Zinzolin stated without turning around, “but in our eyes, you are all the same. You best prepare yourself, because this idyllic world you live in will soon be turned inside out.”

 

While Zinzolin walked off, rubbing the back of his head in an attempt to alleviate the pain caused by Nekou’s attack, Nekou herself immediately shot her attention to Matt.

 

“Why’d you make me release him?! He could have given us valuable intelligence!”

 

“There’s an even better source of potential information compared to an old man in a winter coat, and it’s right under our noses.” Matt nodded as he spoke. “Let’s make sure all of the students and everyone else are okay, then we’ll go to the Academy’s library.”

 

-:-

 

Several hours later, the sun had almost completely set over Johto, leaving Violet City covered by the soft glow of early moonlight and street lamps.

 

A path on the northern end of the city, consisting of two bridges over a lake, led to a tall pagoda surrounded by trees. Olivia and Avril, who were approaching the structure, stopped on the small island halfway down the path to observe it from the light of the lanterns dotting the road.

 

“So this is the Sprout Tower?” Olivia asked out loud. “It looks nice, but why bring me here exactly?”

 

“I shouldn’t have expected a kid like you to know,” Avril scoffed. “They won’t let you challenge the Violet Gym in the first place unless you get approval from the Elder here.”

 

“And I suppose that’s why you’re here, because you already got permission?” Olivia’s sarcastic taunt was said with full realization that Avril actually hadn’t done so either.

 

Briefly at a loss for words, Avril hissed back, “I’m more than you’ll ever be, wait and watch. Have your laughs while you can.”

 

“Oh, whatever. Let’s go.”

 

Without speaking another word to each other, Olivia and Avril walked the rest of the way to the tower and entered, finding themselves inside an aged chamber constructed nearly entirely of wood. Statues of the Pokémon Bellsprout dotted the room, and a thick, swaying pillar stood at the center, piercing the ceiling to reach into the upper floors.

 

“Greetings,” a bald-headed monk wearing a black robe said to the two young women as they entered the pagoda. “Welcome to Sprout Tower. Please state your purpose.”

 

“I want permission to battle Falkner!” Avril demanded.

 

“Hey, me too!” Olivia added.  


“Very well. If you wish to earn our Elder’s permission to battle Falkner, you must reach him on the third floor of our temple. Each of you, take one of the flights of stairs in the back of this chamber. On the above floor you will find a series of chambers where the monks here will test your worthiness for an audience with the Elder. May the gentle luck of the Bellsprout be with you both.”

 

“I’m going to get up there and win before you even come close,” Avril boasted, putting her hands on her hips.

 

“As if! I’ll leave you in the dust!”

 

“You’re on, washboard!”

 

-:-

 

The many large wooden bookshelves in the school’s library made the room rather cramped and difficult to move around in. Bunny and Amanda were sitting together at a table on the far side of the library near a window; they weren’t alone for long, as Matt soon returned carrying a thick, heavy book that he dropped on the wooden surface.

 

“This is the book you mentioned, Amanda,” Matt said as he sat down. “The one with information on Reshiram in it.”

 

“Yes, big brother. If you’re looking for that Pokémon, there should be a hint in that book, based on what Earl’s told me.”

 

“I thought Amanda couldn’t walk,” Bunny questioned Matt. “Did something change? What did that old man from Polaris mean about ‘modifying your bodies’ and ‘straddling the boundary of life and death?’”

 

“Well, you see…” Taking a deep breath, Matt looked down at the table. His thoughts were difficult to process into words. “Like how my body was repaired with machinery to restore my mobility, Amanda has a pair of artificial legs now, so she doesn’t need her wheelchair anymore. My hope is to one day make a workable cybernetic eye so her sight can also be restored.”

 

“I don’t think those Polaris people like it when humans modify themselves with machines,” Amanda observed.

 

“No, it’s more than that. Bunny, do you remember what they said in Whitegold City? I don’t think it’s just humans… they oppose the blending of machinery and DNA, period. It’s all organic life.”

 

“That’s right!” Bunny exclaimed. “The object of their worship is DNA itself, then.”

 

“Based on what I recall, that would be correct. Something doesn’t add up, though… why would they be campaigning against the Pokémon League system, then?”

 

“It’s all very frightening…” Amanda listlessly commented.

 

“I agree,” Bunny concurred.

 

“There is only one way to cut through all the mystery surrounding everything, and that’s to find Reshiram.” Opening the oversized volume, Matt quickly flipped through the pages until he found one displaying his target, a majestic, blue-eyed dragon with grand plumage on its white body.

 

“There it is!”

 

Nodding to Bunny in acknowledgment of her exclamation, Matt began reading out loud.

 

“The Vast White Fire of Truth, Reshiram.

 

Legend states that this creature was wielded by a hero centuries ago in Unova. It was once part of a single Pokémon along with Zekrom, and when they were split up, Kyurem was created. But what is the meaning of this? What brought about the splitting of this single Pokémon into three and how can such a thing even be possible? Modern science is unable to provide a certain answer, but theories exist.

 

Research by Professor Lenora Hawes, director of the museum of archeology in Nacrene City, Unova, suggests that Reshiram, like Zekrom, does not have normal biology in terms humans ordinarily consider. Professor Hawes’s hypothesis states that Reshiram’s body is formed from the flames of truth it controls. This amorphous nature grants Reshiram the ability to alter its body structure, which is most well documented when it takes on the dormant form of the Light Stone. However, research on the last known Light Stone led Professor Hawes to a startling hypothesis regarding Reshiram’s origin – it may be impossible to locate Reshiram or the Light Stone in the traditional sense. Instead, Reshiram may be drawn to individuals who seek the truth with their entire being, hence why the essences of Reshiram and Zekrom were removed from the original Pokémon they once collectively were.”

 

“It doesn’t have a fixed location? Is that possible?”

 

“No, no, I won’t accept this!” Matt slammed his fist on the table, not even bothering to pay attention to Bunny’s question. “Reshiram has to be somewhere! I’m no hero, so the idea of finding it by matching the ancient hero’s drive for the truth… I can’t pull that off!”

 

“Matt, think back to what Dante said!” Bunny pleaded, unwilling to simply sit by and watch Matt destroy himself with doubt. “Remember what you told me he said to you back on Route 29? ‘the Light Stone only appears before an individual who has put in overwhelming effort into finding the truth.’ That’s consistent with what it says here. We have to keep searching.”

 

Nekou was watching Matt, Amanda and Bunny verbally spar over the Light Stone and Reshiram from a vantage point that mostly obscured her behind a bookcase. She was waiting for when she felt comfortable that they would not notice what she was doing.

 

Several minutes passed before that feeling finally came. Nekou slid into the narrow aisle defined by the bookcases and removed her glasses, tossing them into a nearby garbage bin with a sharp flick of her wrist. She then took out a new pair that was more rectangular in shape with frames that didn’t cover the tops of the lenses, put them on, and tapped the left-hand stem. This activated a computer built into the glasses, and she used them to scan the shelves.

 

“Where are you…” she uttered to herself. There was one particular book she wanted to find, and all of her attention was focused on locating it. After covering several rows of books, a signal on her computer glasses flashed. “Well, that wasn’t so hard.”

 

Nekou switched off her glasses and pulled the book from its place on the shelf. It was not particularly thick, but she knew that it was nevertheless important despite its size.

 

 _“A Documentation of Ancient Cultures and Peoples,”_ she read off the book’s heavy brown cover, _“by Sutter Chiaki and Jacob Alexison.”_

 

Opening the book, Nekou skimmed the first page, which revealed that the tome was a collection of writings by Sutter and his then-young assistant, Jacob, centered around the study of its titular subjects. After peering around the bookcase again to confirm that Matt, Bunny and Amanda were still discussing Reshiram and thus not paying attention to her, Nekou thumbed through the book, bypassing several sections until she found the material she sought.

 

_“September 8, 1952 – Jacob and I have begun what we hope will be our most exciting study yet. We wish to find the holy land of the Tenganist people, which may be key to understanding how our world began, as it is said that the Tenganists of this era are descended from the first humans to live on Earth. Most notably, the people of this culture possess a power, Transcendence, with which they can harness powers similar to those of Pokémon. It is documented that they discovered a way to create an object called the Jewel of Life using the elemental Plates occasionally unearthed by archeologists. If we could discover this secret, we may be able to learn ways to help impoverished areas of the world. This is the purpose of our quest._

_October 12, 1952 – The original homeland of the Tenganists was near Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, where our world took shape. However, they fanned out across the world. What we seek is the place where the most direct descendants of those original people now live. This is the holy land of the Tenganists and where the truth must lie. Our search will focus first on places in Sinnoh near Mt. Coronet._

_December 31, 1952 - We are spending New Years’ in Snowpoint City. Spent Christmas here too. This isn’t the place we’re looking for, although there are plenty of Tenganists here. It’s not Eterna or Oreburgh either._

_January 4, 1953 - We learned from the shrine maiden guarding Snowpoint Temple that we might be able to learn something in Celestic Town. As soon as this snow ends, we’ll be able to make it there._

_January 22, 1953 - A breakthrough? The people of Celestic Town seemed to know where what we seek is. We must go south, into the borderlands between Sinnoh and the Tohjo Continent. This may be the last entry for a while._

_September 5, 1953 – One year into our quest to find the Tenganist holy land, and we’ve had our biggest breakthrough yet! While visiting a Tenganist village in the borderland region, we met a young woman named Saeko Oryo. She is an oracle living in another village, whose Transcendence power is to see the past and future. Our previous research has indicated that the powers of prophecy – actual seeing, not merely premonition – are difficult to achieve by anyone other than the most pure-blooded Tenganists. When we asked her to take us to her home, she agreed. Has our work finally paid off?_

_October 3, 1953 – Here in the snowy wasteland between Sinnoh and the Tohjo Continent, Jacob and I have found the Tenganist holy land! With the help of Saeko Oryo, of course. Without her, we would never have had the big breakthrough we did. This village is literally a time capsule… it’s like time doesn’t even pass here._

_October 31, 1953 – Neither of us wants to leave. We enjoy the company of Miss Oryo and the other Tenganists far too much, and this village is a lovely place, even if it is cold. –Jacob_

_November 11, 1953 – Something strange is going on. I was spending some time with Saeko and she used her power. I think she saw something unusual in her vision._

_November 12, 1953 – The other people of the village are acting strangely around Jacob and I, and Saeko seems to have withdrawn. Something is definitely strange.”_

 

When her eyes glanced down to the last entry, Nekou’s blood ran cold. It was written in a different style than the others, coming across as panicked and terrified.

 

_“December 8, 1953 – It’s a disaster… the village elders decided to exile Jacob and I, and Saeko was sentenced to burn at the stake as a witch. But it’s not that simple. She tried to run. She ran, and in her desperation, she swallowed that little stone they hid away in the village, and now it’s burning and everyone is dead. Should anyone read this in the future, let it be a warning to you. Stay away from that accursed thing… that Jewel of Life…  all it brings is despair! It is cursed! We should never have searched for it in the first place!”_

 

Rattled, Nekou closed the book, tucked it under her arm, and quietly headed to leave the library. _“This changes things,”_ she thought to herself. _“I have to find out more about what this means...”_

 

-:-

 

“Ha! I made it here before you!”

 

“Be quiet, you bottom feeder. I obviously set foot on this floor well before you!”

 

For all of Olivia’s bragging and Avril’s insults, their race was too close to call. Both of them had reached the top floor of Sprout Tower at nearly the exact same time.

 

“I see you have passed the tests posed by my followers.”

 

Olivia and Avril turned themselves in the direction of the ragged voice. It belonged to an old, bald-headed man dressed in purple and gold robes, who was approaching them from his place of meditation in front of a Bellsprout mosaic.

 

“Are you the Elder?” Olivia questioned.

 

“I am. My name is Li, and I welcome you to the Sprout Tower! What have you learned from your training here? I would like the two of you to reflect on that. Since you came here, you must wish to challenge Falkner. I’m the final test before Violet Gym for the two of you. Which one of you will go first?”

 

“I will!” Avril loudly declared, pushing Olivia aside.

 

“You’re clearly very eager. What is your name, girl?”

 

“Avril! And I’m going to be the Champion!”

 

Li smiled under his thick white moustache. “Very well, Avril, I accept your challenge. Go, Bellsprout!”

 

As soon as the Bellsprout emerged from Li’s Poké Ball, Avril took out and threw her own, a variant with a green top. The Nest Ball burst open, revealing a small, dinosaur-like Pokémon with a stout blue body and black fur growing on its neck and head.

 

“That Pokémon is so cute!” Olivia squealed as she scanned the growling creature.

 

_“Deino, the Irate Pokémon. Type is Dark/Dragon. Lacking sight, it's unaware of its surroundings, so it bumps into things and eats anything that moves.”_

 

“Yeah, none of your Pokémon can measure up to her,” Avril snidely boasted regarding Deino. “Deino, open strong. Use Work Up!”

 

“A wise tactic. I think I shall copy it. Bellsprout, Growth!”

 

-:-  


Dr. Zager was working intently on collecting intelligence from RChannel when he heard the door of his laboratory open. Before he knew it, Jessie was towering over him, holding him up by the collar.

 

“Why didn’t you tell us everything?!” she cried out. Zager needed a moment before he noticed a tear in the corner of her eye.

 

“What are you talking about?” Dr. Zager was genuinely naïve of what Jessie was so upset over. He tried to pry her hands off of his collar, but failed.

 

“You didn’t warn us about what the Meteonite could really do,” James explained as he entered alongside Ariana. “Because of that… Polaris brainwashed Meowth into joining them!”

 

“What?!”

 

When Zager started coughing, Ariana ordered, “Jessie, put him down now or I’ll have you written up for insubordination.”

 

“Fine.”

 

Jessie didn’t let go of Zager as much as she simply dropped him, and he came close to falling down once he landed. She then fumed back over to rejoin James and Ariana. Meanwhile, Galvantula was hiding under the laboratory table.

 

“Explain what you’re saying,” the doctor demanded.

 

“The Team Plasma members who are in Polaris attacked us and we got into a fight with them. During the battle the Meteonite became destabilized, and when Meowth touched it, it changed him. Ariana came to take Jessie and I to you before things got any worse.”

 

“So help us, Doctor!” Jessie added.

 

“I’m…” It was difficult for Zager to accept what he was being told. Beneath his occasionally gruff demeanor, he did genuinely care about those under his command, so he felt a strong desire to get Meowth back as well. On the other hand, though, he knew far more than Jessie, James or even Ariana just how hard defeating Polaris would be. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything right now but contact the boss for help. Do you have the R-Pad?”

 

“Right here,” Jessie said as she held the computer up.

 

“Then we shall get to the data analysis right away.” Zager narrowed his eyes, and his face became darker. “What could Polaris actually be planning?”

 

-:-

 

Polaris’s Adenosine Base stood in the Johto ocean like a massive iron monolith supported by legs on four small islands. The brisk sea breeze blew over the structure as it sat under the bright moonlight.

 

On one of the four islands, a vast landing area was set up. Several scientists were there, as was Finansielle, the winds blowing the sheer cape running down from her armor to cover the nightgown she wore underneath.

 

Soon, a large, military-grade helicopter came from over the surface of the sea and settled into hovering over the ring of lights on the landing pad. Its pilot carefully guided the craft downward, landing with little fuss.

 

A staircase emerged from the side of the chopper and descended in front of Finansielle and the scientists. The cabin door opened, and a blonde, bespectacled man in a flowing white lab coat stepped out. He walked calmly down the stairs and only stopped once he was face-to-face with Finansielle.

 

“Dr. Colress Antimony, as I live and breathe,” Polaris’s financier greeted him. “Welcome to the Adenosine Base. We shall help you finish your work on Pokémon strength here.”

 

“So you’re Finansielle, then?” Colress asked, twirling his finger through the long curl of blue hair that wrapped around his head. “I’m looking forward to getting to work. The key of the latent potential of Pokémon…”

 

“Did you bring those objects I requested?”

 

“Yes, I did.” Upon Finansielle’s request, Colress held up the briefcase he’d been carrying and opened it, revealing two sharp pins colored in stripes of blue, black and white preserved in orange fluid.

 

Immediately upon seeing them, Finansielle breathed heavily. “The DNA Splicers… finally, after so long, the key to Polaris’s promised world is finally in our possession…”

 

“I’ll be more than happy to help you reach that world, too. My expertise will be necessary to create the perfect DNA that we both seek.”

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 7**

 

 


	8. The End of Innocence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finansielle outfits Colress with the equipment needed to create the new strain of Pokerus, while Sacred Helix members Mercury and Seduire search for the large Meteonite in the Ruins of Alph. Olivia challenges Violet Gym Leader Falkner, who can only offer her and Avril one chance each, but his Flying-type Pokemon present far more of a challenge than she anticipated.

And here it is – Olivia’s first Gym battle, and the end of the first major story arc. I won’t put it off any further with more comments, so let’s just get going…

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 8:** The End of Innocence

 

-:-

 

With their feet loudly banging against the hallway’s metal floor, Finansielle and Colress trekked deep into the Adenosine Base. She led him well into the tower at the center of the complex, and eventually they arrived at their destination, a cavernous laboratory as dark as the hallways outside.

 

As they entered, Finansielle walked over to a vault in the wall and swiftly entered a passcode on the keypad next to it. A gust of cold air drifted out of it as it slowly opened.

 

“Put the DNA Splicers in this freezer,” she instructed. “They’ll be safely preserved until we need them.”

 

“Yes, my lady.” In accordance with Finansielle’s direction, Colress placed his briefcase on the nearby desk and opened it. He took great care, deftly grasping each of the fluid-filled cylinders containing a DNA Splicer with his gloved hands as he moved them into the freezer.

 

Once the DNA Splicers were safely stored away, Finansielle sealed up the cold vault again, then slowly walked to a wide bank of computers sitting in the middle of the lab. “Have a look at this, Dr. Antimony,” she said, typing with one hand.

 

In response to the command Finansielle entered, a holographic projection of several computer windows materialized. Colress’s eyes widened and his mouth contorted into a grin when he saw what they contained.

 

Lines upon lines of complex genetic codes filled the windows, along with diagrams of how the codes would fit into an already-existing molecular structure.

 

“Is this it?” he excitedly exclaimed. “Could this be… the key to the ultimate DNA? The one that will make the truth about Pokémon strength reveal itself?”

 

“I see you like this,” Finansielle coolly observed. “This is the incomplete DNA structure for a new strain of Pokérus our scientists are working on. We have a large part of it finished, but we just can’t get the last part right, and as a result, we can’t get it to function.”

 

“And you want me to fill in those gaps?”

 

“Exactly. You’ll find all the relevant data on the project in the computer’s databank, so please read it before getting started. I am giving you this facility and its staff and resources to have at your full disposal.”

 

“You will not be disappointed, Lady Finansielle,” Colress promised with a grand bow. “I can have the work of completing this virus’s genetic sequence in no time.”

 

-:-

 

“Begin the data retrieval!”

 

In his decrepit lab, far from Colress’s modern research facility, Dr. Zager initiated the extraction of the data stolen from Mr. Pokémon’s servers out of the R-Pad. Jessie, James and Ariana stood alongside him, watching as his computer screen filled with the information.

 

“Excellent!” he exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips. “The data is flowing nicely.”

 

“What exactly are we looking for, Gabriel?” Ariana sighed. “Not all of us are science whizzes like you.”

 

“We’re looking for something that’ll get us Meowth back,” James coldly interrupted before Zager could answer. “That is what you’re going to say, right?”

 

“Team Rocket has a lot of priorities,” the doctor offered as a feeble reply, though once he saw the death glares Jessie and James were shooting him, he hurried to correct himself by saying, “but one of those certainly is getting Meowth back, no doubt. What we want to find is something that can counteract the effect the Meteonite had on Meowth. Computer, is there anything of the sort in there? Anything that can counteract the Meteonite’s effect?”

 

 _“Comparison of the data from the R-Pad and existing data on the server indicates one possible solution,”_ the computer’s female voice answered. _“The super-electrical energy of the Chargestone Cave rocks has a signature opposite that of the Meteonite. The two forces should cancel each other out.”_

 

“Now that is most excellent!”

 

“What’s got you so excited?” Jessie asked Zager, as she was confused over his sudden outburst.

 

“I just happen to have some Chargestones left over in storage from the mission in Unova. I can quickly construct a weapon that will get both Meowth and that Meteonite piece back.”

 

“Then get on it,” Ariana ordered. “Giovanni wants this done as soon as we can.”

 

-:-

 

Matt yawned and slowly roused from his slumber. After everything that had happened the previous day, a good night’s sleep was very refreshing to him.

 

Barely awake, he reached toward the table to his left, trying to collect his glasses so he could use the mask attached to them to replace his eyepatch. He got a sudden chill and froze up, though, when he felt like someone was watching him.

 

“Look at me.”

 

Turning his head to the right, he jumped when he discovered Nekou lying on the bed next to him, close enough that he could see her fairly clearly without his glasses. She seemed to have no concern about doing this, instead treating it as perfectly normal as she ran her fingers over his face.

 

“W-what are you doing?!” Matt choked, utterly terrified at this bizarre situation.

 

Ignoring his question, Nekou said to him, “Remember what you promised me? You’re going to tell Olivia about what happened to Rich after she wins her Badge today.”

 

“I-I remember,” he nervously confirmed. “Now can you get out of my face?”

 

“Just make sure you keep your promise,” she insisted, moving to within an inch of his face instead of moving away. “That would make me happy. And trust me, you want me happy.”

 

-:-

 

Over the next ten minutes, Matt hastily pulled himself together, with Nekou asking him sarcastic questions the whole time.

 

When the two of them came out of the room and entered the Pokémon Center’s lobby, Olivia and Bunny were already there. They had been spending their time discussing the upcoming Gym battle, but immediately took notice when their two missing companions finally joined them.

 

“You’re late,” Bunny said while running a hand through her hair. “What were you doing?”

 

“Yeah, Matt, why don’t you tell her what we were doing?” Nekou’s teasing came with half-closed eyes and a catlike grin.

 

“Were you two doing things together?”

 

Olivia’s question, as sweetly and innocently as she’d asked it, made Matt freeze. Between Nekou’s ribbing, the fact that he was still hurriedly adjusting his rumpled coat and shirt, and the sight that both he and Nekou had come out of the room at the same time, he realized exactly what the implications suggested.

 

“No! Nothing of the sort!” The exaggerated way Matt’s face contorted during his denial made both Olivia and Nekou break down laughing, and Bunny even chuckled a bit.

 

“Relax, we’re just teasing you.”

 

Somehow, Nekou saying this didn’t make Matt feel any better at all. He simply sighed and shrugged.

 

Olivia, on the other hand, was persistent. “I want to get to the Gym right away! If that Avril gets there before me, we’ll be held up!”

 

“We have to eat, though…”

 

Intervening between Olivia and Matt, Bunny suggested as a solution, “Compromise. What about we grab some food but take it to go, and head right to the Gym with it?”

 

“I’ll go for that if Matt’s up for it,” Olivia consented.

 

“Nothing wrong with that to me. Let’s do it.”

 

-:-

 

With the sunlight dwindling behind them, the Polaris team led by Mercury and Séduire delved into the Ruins of Alph. Cold stone walls covered in ancient runes framed the path taken by the two women, who were accompanied by Mercury’s four followers and the still-brainwashed Meowth.

 

“Any readings yet?” Mercury called over her shoulder.

 

One of the four men, who was holding a tablet computer connected to his backpack via a thick cable, responded, “Only very faint traces of Meteonite resonance are coming up right now, Mercury. We’ve got to go deeper.”

 

“Alright, forward we go.”

 

“You know the stories they tell about this place, right?” Séduire mused. “They say that sometimes the Unown get angry and take people visiting the Ruins away. Some of them wake up in random places in the Tohjo Continent. They never find others.”

 

“I think you might be starting to crack from observing RChannel,” responded Mercury. “Isn’t that just an urban legend?”

 

“Just imagine if it’s true, though. The Unown were powerful enough already, but then a meteor with special powers crashes in the Ruins from space? There’s a reason why they closed the Ruins to the public after the impact, a reason that has nothing to do with us.”

 

“Now!”

 

“What was that?” Séduire looked around, unnerved by the fleeting, high-pitched voice she heard ring in her ears.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Uno!”

 

“Mercury, tell me you heard that!” The second hint of the mysterious voice left Séduire shaking.

 

“I heard it this time,” Mercury responded, raising her hand in a prompt to her men to stop walking. “See anything?”

 

“There!” Séduire exclaimed, pointing forward into the murky depths of the corridor.

 

At that point, a black creature shaped like a circle with a wide, white eye at the center floated out from the darkness to confront them, followed shortly by several more of its kind. Each one had a different shape, with the circular eye being the only trait they all shared. Floating around each other like a cloud, the Pokémon chirped loudly at the ones invading their home.

 

“The Unown…” Mercury observed before thrusting her right arm forward. “Meowth, you’re like them, tainted by the Meteonite’s power. Get them out of our way!”

 

Moving with labored, heavy steps, Meowth dragged himself before the angry cluster of Unown and said in a flat voice, “We aren’t trying to hurt you. We want only to find the rock that crashed into this place and drove you all up the wall. We’re trying to save you.”

 

The Unown slowed their movements somewhat, as if considering what Meowth had said to them. After chattering amongst themselves for some time, they all turned to the Polaris team at once, and an Unown shaped like the letter ‘L’ floated down.

 

“Nown, uno. Unown now.”

 

“Yes, let us go past and into the Ruins. We are not your enemy.”

 

“Nown nown!”

 

Having become convinced by Meowth’s explanation of Polaris’s motives, the Unown withdrew and faded away. The brainwashed cat Pokémon then returned to the ones controlling him.

 

“They say that we can go in,” he revealed to Mercury and Séduire. “They trust us inside the Ruins.”

 

“Good. That’ll make our job easier.”

 

Mercury signaled her followers again, and the team advanced further into the Ruins of Alph.

 

-:-

 

Positioned neatly on the edge of the lake and flanked by four finely-trimmed trees, Violet Gym stood as a reflection of the traditional culture the city still clung to. The earthy-colored, dome-shaped building loomed above everything but the Sprout Tower, yet blended into the central area of Violet City nearly seamlessly.

 

Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia were walking up the stone road toward the Gym when they spotted Dominic, Avril, Helena and Monroe already standing outside.

 

“Hey, Mr. Chiaki!” called the businessman, waving to them as they approached.

 

“Oh, it’s Dominic,” Bunny pointed out to Matt, even though he had already heard and saw the second group of four. After speaking, she took a handful of cereal from the travel container she’d picked up at the Pokémon Center earlier.

 

“So you decided to show up,” Avril taunted Olivia once the two groups came together. “Are you ready to see what a real challenge is like?”

 

“I’d be tempted to ask you the same question,” Olivia shot back, “considering you’re the one who’s going to have trouble here.”

 

“You tell her, Olivia. Stick up for yourself.”

 

Matt briefly grimaced when he considered how early Olivia and Nekou were getting started for the day, but he quickly realized that they were actually right in the situation. Shaking his head, he took a bite of his bagel, which had an egg and a slice of cheese on it.

 

“Oh, whatever. You’ll see when I get the Badge and you don’t.”

 

“Avril, that’s enough,” Dominic sternly interrupted. “Stop being rude to her.”

 

“Yes, sister,” Helena added after a short pause while Monroe signed the conversation to her. “You should aim to strengthen yourself to honor your peers, not to shame them. If rivals cannot be friends with each other at the end of the day, what is the point of it all? That’s what I think.”

 

Feeling a spike of anger directed at her older sister, raised a finger to Helena and opened her mouth as if to say something, but she abruptly gave up. Deciding to keep her attention on Olivia instead, she said, “I’m not wasting any more time. Let’s go.”

 

“You’re on! When I have that Zephyr Badge, I’m sticking it in your face instead of Matt’s first!”

 

Olivia and Avril ran for the Gym’s door together, their minds consumed by their shared spirit of competition. Avril’s siblings and the older members of the group were left to catch up.

 

“Watching them makes me feel old,” Matt mused to Nekou and Bunny as they approached the Gym’s entrance. “They’ve got everything in front of them still… I wish I had that chance when I was their age.”

 

Intrigued by what that comment could mean, Nekou wanted to ask Matt about it, but as they had already entered the Gym by then, she didn’t get the chance.

 

The inside of the Violet Gym was a vast space resembling the interior of a wooden clock tower. A clockwork elevator waited right inside, allowing a means of access to the upper level, where the battles would take place. Waiting in front of the lift was a brown-haired boy wearing a blue suit and thick, gray falconer’s gloves.

 

“Welcome to the Violet City Gym!” the young man recited, smiling broadly at the collection of visitors. “You’re the challengers, right? Avril and Olivia?”  


“You bet!” Olivia confirmed.

 

“Let us through to see Falkner!” demanded Avril, showing far more directness in her attitude than Olivia did. “Or, just let me through. I don’t care about her.”

 

“Aw, what’s the matter?” Olivia teased. “Don’t want me to see you lose?”

 

“If anyone’s losing, it’s you! You could learn something from watching me!”

 

While Olivia and Avril continued their bickering with the others as a kind of captive audience, they failed to notice the gatekeeper of the Gym taking action. He rang the bell hanging from the nearby wall twice, and mere moments later, the elevator began to descend, carrying a second man as its passenger.

 

Bunny was the first to spot him, when she briefly moved her gaze off the still-arguing Avril and Olivia. After giving him a quick look-over as he stepped off the platform, she uttered, “You must be…”

 

“Falkner, the Gym Leader!” Dominic finished.

 

“So the man really exists,” Nekou sarcastically said. “I almost thought you were a myth after you didn’t show up for that protest yesterday.”

 

Ineffectively brushing aside his blue bangs from his face, Falkner sighed and answered, “Don’t think I didn’t notice them. I inherited this Gym from my father, but… as the Gym Leader, I am responsible for listening to the opinions of the people of my city. Polaris’s stunt yesterday made me begin thinking, and I decided I have to train to get stronger. That’s so I can be a better role model for the young people such as those in your sister’s class,” Falkner turned his head, “Matt Chiaki. Amanda’s become a good friend of mine since she came here to teach.”

 

“It makes me happy to know that she’s reaching out and connecting with others in such a way,” Matt admitted, casting a glance downward at the floor. “She’s grown up from the days when I had to shelter her from everything.” Looking back to Falkner, he then asked, “What do you mean about getting stronger, though? What will you do?”

 

“I am going to temporarily resign my post as Gym Leader and go on a journey to train, much as my father did before me.”

 

“Does that mean I can’t get my Zephyr Badge?!” Olivia shrilled, pouting intensely.

 

“Forget her, I’m the one who needs the Zephyr Badge!” Avril exclaimed in an attempt to one-up Olivia again.

 

“Now, now, there’s no need for you two to get so worked up,” Falkner said with a smile. “I’m not going to leave until I’ve battled both of you, so you each get one shot at beating me. So which of you will be going first?”

 

“Me!” both Olivia and Avril blurted out at the same time.

 

The two young women shot each other angry looks, while the others looked on and allowed the issue to play itself out. Much to their surprise, however, Avril took a step back only a few seconds later.

 

“Actually, let her go first,” she dismissively said, referring to Olivia. “I’ll watch how you battle her and then I’ll know all of your secrets.”

 

“Gee, aren’t you generous?” Olivia remarked, shrugging her shoulders.

 

“Avril, thank you for resolving that yourself,” sighed Dominic.

 

“Olivia, you do your best out there, okay?”

 

“I will!” Olivia smiled widely after hearing Bunny’s words of encouragement.

 

“Alright, so how about we get started?” Falkner suggested. “Olivia, you follow me on the main elevator. Everyone else, take those stairs to my right. They’ll get you up to the spectator area.”

 

-:-

 

Giovanni was sitting in his chair in his office, scratching Persian’s head and observing the urban wasteland Viridian City had become through the grand bay window. As a native of the area and a longtime resident, he no longer recognized the once-verdant city. Viridian’s urbanization, much like that of Cherrygrove City in Johto, had come on after an increase in public demand for goods and services related to Pokémon training and battling following the announcement of the Frontier Society. The Angel Corporation, headquartered not far from Giovanni’s residence, had responded to this need by funding the development of resources related to these necessities, in turn leading to the overdevelopment of many areas as they transformed into hubs of industry.

 

While he did not dislike big cities, Giovanni found himself bothered by what Viridian had become. Even in his status as the head of Team Rocket, his hometown and the surrounding areas retained a soft spot in his heart, so Gabriella’s eager efforts to transform the city were something he could not abide, even if she meant well.

 

He felt his anger starting to rise due to his thoughts on the matter, and he subconsciously began squeezing the whiskey glass in his hand. Just before he could repeat his bad habit of smashing them, though, he was interrupted by the sound of his office door creaking open. Persian meowed, and Giovanni turned his chair around, discovering Stacia walking slowly toward his desk.

 

“Mister Giovanni, sir…” Upon reaching Giovanni’s desk, Stacia nervously handed him the black file emblazoned with the Team Rocket logo she had been holding in her arms. He opened the folder immediately to apprise its contents, and Stacia continued speaking. “This is intelligence we received from our undercover operative who has infiltrated Polaris.”

 

“I see,” Giovanni answered. “So Goldenrod City is one of their major targets.”

 

“Yes, it would appear so. I can draft potential responses.”

 

“Do that immediately. I want to have courses of action on my desk in under twenty-four hours.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Stacia bowed, then turned around and went to leave.

 

-:-

 

Olivia and Falkner stood facing each other from opposite ends of the Violet Gym’s elevated battlefield, a wooden construct with two large gaps in its floor. Matt, Nekou, Bunny, Dominic, Helena, Monroe and Avril all were crowded into a small spectator area off to the side, and overhead, a vast dome allowed a clear view of the blue sky.

 

Holding the lapel of his sky-blue vest, Falkner addressed Olivia, “Young lady, confirm for me how many Badges and Pokémon you’ve brought here today.”

 

“I don’t have any Badges yet, but I do have four Pokémon,” she replied.

 

“I see. Because of League rules, which do not allow me to use more than three Pokémon against a trainer with no Badges, this will be a three-on-three Single Battle. I will not be permitted to switch out, and the winner will be the one who defeats their opponent’s final Pokémon. Are those rules acceptable to you?”

 

“Of course they are! Let’s do this!”

 

“Olivia, go for it!” Bunny called out from the sidelines. “That Badge is in your reach!”

 

“Well, this is unusual,” Matt quietly joked to his companions, “usually you’re the quiet one, Bunny.”

 

“Shut up,” Nekou coldly said. “This is serious time now.”

 

Before returning to the soon-to-begin battle, Matt briefly turned his eyes toward Dominic and his children. All four were watching intently, but Avril showed a particular fire in her eyes, leaning forward and staring at the battlefield while almost seeming not to blink.

 

The young man who previously had guarded the Gym’s entrance stepped up on a platform just off to the side of the battlefield, roughly halfway between the two trainers. “This Violet Gym battle between the Gym Leader, Falkner, and the challenger, Olivia of Sootopolis City, shall now begin! The rules have already been laid out and agreed upon by both parties. The Gym Leader shall be the first to reveal his Pokémon!”

 

“Challenger, I will now show you the power of the magnificent Flying-type Pokémon!” Falkner cried out, tossing off his vest. He was wearing a darker robe underneath, and his Poké Balls were attached to the white sash around his waist. Pulling one off, he threw it and called out, “Taillow, take flight!”

 

Olivia shrank back from the blue-feathered swallow Pokémon, recalling how she’d underestimated the Taillow owned by Harold, the boy on Route 30. “Take this seriously,” she mumbled to herself. “All right, you beat one once, so you can do it again! Lillipup, let’s play!”

 

Upon releasing from Olivia’s Poké Ball and landing on the gritty wooden floor, Lillipup stole a single glance at his opponent and recognized her species immediately. He attempted to sound intimidating by growling and barking at the Taillow, but he succeeded only at making himself look cuter than he already did.

 

“The first round shall be Olivia’s Lillipup versus Falkner’s Taillow! And… begin!”

 

“Taillow, get in close and use Peck,” Falkner calmly directed, wasting no time in taking the first move.

 

“Counter that with Bite, Lillipup!”

 

Taillow’s beak took on a bright glow as she darted toward Lillipup, but he was ready. Baring his teeth, he attempted to clamp onto Taillow’s beak and stop her attack. However, he missed, and instead bit into her wing while she jabbed him with Peck. The two Pokémon tumbled backward before separating, each slightly wounded from their clash.

 

“Not bad, Olivia. Try this… Echoed Voice!”

 

Pulling back to put some distance between herself and Lillipup, Taillow took to the air, rising several feet above the curving battlefield. She inhaled deeply, an action that puffed out her chest, and cried out, producing an earsplitting sound wave.

 

“Lillipup, get away from that! Don’t get hit!” Olivia’s plea was for naught, however, as the sonic wave washed over Lillipup just as he turned to run. He was reduced to a shaking wreck, trembling all over as he slowly turned his eyes back up toward Taillow. “Don’t give up now. I know you’ve got more fight in you! Take Down!”

 

Lillipup built up what resolve he had left and charged toward Taillow, fixating on the Normal-and-Flying-type more and more with every step. Conveniently enough, she happened sink down enough to allow Lillipup to reach her, but right before he struck, Falkner issued another command.

 

“Taillow, Growl.”

 

With literally a scant few inches separating the two Pokémon, Taillow breathed in once more and forcefully voiced her name. Lillipup still collided with Taillow, but she wasn’t terribly shaken by the blow. Her attacker, on the other hand, fell back to the floor and stumbled backward, once again trembling under her gaze.

 

“Lillipup, what’s wrong?” Olivia called out.

 

“You have to think on your feet in the heat of a battle,” Falkner explained, spreading his arms. “I’ve already figured out the range of your abilities in this matchup. When I attacked Lillipup directly, you tried to use my attack to enhance your counter, but when I attacked from a distance, you attempted to escape before making a move in response. That tells me that Lillipup has no long-range techniques, and now that I’ve used Growl to weaken your physical attacking strength, I can strike you with impunity. Taillow, Quick Attack!”

 

Before Olivia could even register what was happening, Taillow had used her speed to tackle Lillipup like a bullet. She then pulled back while Lillipup rolled across the floor, whimpering all the while.

 

“Lillipup is totally overmatched…” Bunny observed, her face completely blank in terms of expression. “Was Olivia not ready for this?”

 

Matt looked from Bunny to Nekou, and then over to Dominic, Avril, Helena and Monroe. Noting that they were all fixated on the battle, he decided against saying anything and continued observing it himself.

 

Seizing on the opening Lillipup’s stunning presented him, Falkner gave another direction to Taillow. “Peck!”

 

“Lillipup, focus! Use Bite when Taillow gets in range!”

 

Much like how it had played out in their first exchange, Taillow approached Lillipup and Lillipup bit down on her wing. The difference this time came in that Peck did not make contact, and as a result, there was no force of impact to drive the two to eventually separate.

 

“Bullseye,” Falkner said to himself. “Taillow, lift off and use Quick Attack to wrap this up!”

 

With Lillipup still hanging on to her wing, Taillow launched herself into the sky. The additional weight presented by her Normal-type passenger did not affect her flight in any way. Reaching a point high into the rafters of the Gym, near the ceiling, Taillow lashed around and rocketed downward in a straight line. She turned only once she had nearly reached the floor, just to slam Lillipup into the floor without crashing herself.

 

This time, after all the beating Lillipup took, he did not rise again.

 

“Lillipup is unable to battle!” the referee announced before the shocked looks of Olivia and the audience. “The winner of this round is Falkner’s Taillow!”

 

“So that’s it, Olivia couldn’t manage to take out Falkner’s Pokémon without losing one of her own first,” Matt muttered into his clasped hands. “I don’t blame her, but…”

 

That wasn’t the same sentiment Olivia held as she stared down at the Poké Ball she recalled her fainted Lillipup to. _“Did I not train enough?”_ she thought to herself. _“I won’t underestimate his Pokémon anymore!”_

 

Without a single spoken word, Olivia threw another Poké Ball forth, sending out her Minccino. Unlike Lillipup, the more well-trained Minccino did not regard Falkner’s Taillow with fear, instead dropping to all fours and glaring at the Normal-and-Flying-type intently.

 

“Another Normal-type, I see,” Falkner said, standing with his hands on his hips. “Let’s begin the game again. Echoed Voice!”

 

“Minccino, stop it with Swift!”

 

Minccino met Taillow’s earsplitting attack by lashing her tail, sending a wave of star-shaped energy bursts flying in Taillow’s direction. The two met midway between their users, largely diffusing their power. What did get through of each move barely rattled their targets, but Taillow was beginning to breathe heavily, tiring out from having fought Lillipup first. Both Falkner and Olivia picked up on this.

 

“Try not to get caught, Taillow! Use Quick Attack!”

 

Olivia smirked, then yelled out simply, “Tail Slap!”

 

Though she attempted to sidestep Taillow’s dive, Minccino still got grazed by it. While visibly hurt – some of her fur had been sheared off by Taillow’s beak – she held firm and somersaulted forward, catching Taillow with her tail and smashing Falkner’s Pokémon across the floor. Before Taillow could recover, Minccino ran forward and used her tail to deliver a second blow, this one tossing Taillow out of the battlefield and into a nearby pillar, where she slunk to the ground in defeat.

 

“Taillow is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Olivia’s Minccino!”

 

“And you were worried,” Nekou scoffed at Matt. “She’s doing just fine for herself.”

 

“I guess.”

 

Meanwhile, none of the others took notice, but Avril was staring intently at the battle and mumbling to herself.

 

“She took out one. Okay, that’s no big deal. I can still handle this.”

 

“Come on back, Taillow.” Falkner recalled his defeated Pokémon and quickly switched out the Poké Ball for another on his sash. “That was good work turning that around, Olivia. Let’s see how you respond to this test! Mantyke, take flight!”

 

“A Mantyke?” Olivia exclaimed almost instantly upon seeing the small blue manta ray that emerged from Falkner’s Poké Ball. “But that’s a Water…” Olivia managed to catch herself and correct her error, “…a Water-type and a Flying-type. I was expecting a Pidgey, to be honest.”

 

“Always think on your feet, especially in a Pokémon Gym. You never know what surprises your opponent might pull out. Anyway, let’s get started again! Mantyke, Bubble!”

 

“Gladly. Minccino, get going and show them another Tail Slap!”

 

Despite having stubby arms and legs, Minccino was able to spring up at Mantyke as the latter floated in midair. Before Mantyke could respond, Minccino whipped the Water-and-Flying-type four times with her tail. The potential of a fifth strike was blocked by Mantyke finally rousing to action, washing Minccino away with a stream of bubbles.

 

“Aqua Tail!”

 

Minccino turned to the use of her tail once more, this time coating it in water and swinging it through the field of bubbles, creating numerous small, flashy bursts.

 

“That looked like a Contest move,” Monroe said quietly.

 

“That’s because it is one,” Nekou answered. “Simple but effective.”

 

“Impressive, Olivia!” Falkner called out. “Now I want you to try facing this! Wing Attack!”

 

Having barely just landed after dissipating the Bubble field, Minccino could not react quickly enough to escape the dive-bombing Mantyke. She loudly squealed in pain, having been hit in the stomach by Mantyke’s wing, but quickly regained her composure.

 

“Are you going to take that, Minccino? Hit that thing with Tail Slap, now!”

 

Much to the surprise of both Olivia and Minccino, however, Mantyke kept flying forward until she reached one of the openings jutting partially into the battlefield, at which point she dove underneath the wooden floor.

 

“What?” Olivia exclaimed, bringing her hands to the sides of her face.

 

“Mincci…?” Minccino mimicked her.

 

“I inherited this Gym from my father, who taught me everything about the glory of Flying-type Pokémon. It is that claim I have to this Gym and its emblem – the Zephyr Badge – that gives me strength, so of course I would have developed ways to use the potential of my Pokémon here! Mantyke, show her what I mean! Bubble!”

 

“Tyke!” Mantyke cried, popping back up from the opening on the other side of the battlefield. She quickly spit out another stream of bubbles at Minccino, then dove back to her cover underneath the floor.

 

Olivia gritted her teeth and watched in frustrated silence as Minccino tried and failed to outrun the stream of bubbles. Just as her Pokémon fell forward, an idea hit her.

 

“We’re gonna have to get Mantyke out from under there to win this, so use Swift!”

 

Falkner hesitated, though his facial expression indicated that he had at least some feeling that Olivia would use Swift. Mantyke got thrown up from one of the openings in the floor by the star-shaped energy rays that Minccino sent under. She regained control of her flight rather quickly, but cuts were visible all over her body as the stress of the battle accumulated.

 

“Mantyke, wrap this up with Wing Attack!”

 

“Wait until it gets close, then use Tail Slap!”

 

There was no opportunity for Falkner to warn Mantyke off to avoid Minccino’s attack, as she had already gotten very close as part of her own attempt. Minccino sharply turned and smashed her tail into Mantyke, with the speed of the two opposing forces only strengthening the force of the blow.

 

Mantyke fell, and Minccino did not let up. She leapt upward and spun, whipping her stunned target repeatedly. By the time she finished, Mantyke was lying on the ground and twitching.

 

“Mantyke is unable to battle!” the referee declared after a brief moment. “The winner of this round is Olivia’s Minccino!”

 

“Olivia, go for it!” Nekou called out from the stands.

 

“She’s only one away now…” Avril quietly observed, her eyes widening. “I don’t believe it. She might actually win…”

 

Nodding his head in respect, Falkner raised up the Poké Ball and recalled Mantyke to it. “I respect you for coming this far, Olivia. To this point you’ve been passing every test I’ve thrown at you by solving the ways to fight back against my strategies. Now let’s see how you deal with my ace.” Having taken one more Poké Ball off his robe, Falkner continued, explaining, “This Pokémon was descended from my father’s partner. Take a look at the grace and wonder of the Violet Gym’s pedigree in full! Pidgeotto, take flight!”

 

The third and final of Falkner’s Pokémon entered the battle with a fierce display of dominance. Pidgeotto stepped forward from the ball’s burst of light on strong, sharp talons and spread her wings,  as if challenging Minccino to even try fighting her.

 

Olivia could tell, though, that Minccino’s energy was failing; bringing down both Taillow and Mantyke had taken its toll on the Normal-type Pokémon, but despite being noticeably short on breath, she stared back at Pidgeotto’s attempt at intimidation with defiance in her eyes.

 

Inspired by what she saw in her Pokémon, Olivia approached her opponents in the same fashion. “Don’t ever give in!” she ordered. “Tail Slap!”

 

“Mirror Move!” Falkner instantly responded, sweeping his arm through the air.

 

Just as Minccino lunged into the air, Pidgeotto copied the motion using her own tail feathers. While Minccino’s movements were swifter, Pidgeotto was more agile, and thus was able to just barely swerve aside.

 

Having escaped Minccino’s attack attempt, Pidgeotto went on the offensive, lashing the smaller Pokémon with her stiffened tail feathers. Pidgeotto only managed to get in three hits as she followed Minccino downward, but it was more than enough to ensure that Minccino fell in defeat.

 

“Minccino is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Falkner’s Pidgeotto!”

 

“One against one now,” Dominic observed. “It’s certainly getting interesting.”

 

 _“Too interesting if you ask me,”_ Matt thought. _“This is too close…”_

 

“Thanks, Minccino…” Olivia stared at the Poké Ball in her hand for what felt like forever to her. She had hoped to get more out of Minccino before going to her last Pokémon against Pidgeotto, as her last two choices were Roselia and Oshawott. Oshawott wasn’t very ready for a battle, she pondered, but on the other hand, Roselia carried a critical weakness to the Flying-type through her own half-Grass-type.

 

Sighing, Olivia chose to go with what she considered the lesser of two evils, and threw the Poké Ball necessary to release Oshawott. Unlike Minccino, he shrank back in fear from Pidgeotto.

 

Avril scoffed when she noticed Oshawott’s shell still hadn’t grown back. “There’s no way she’s winning this now. That thing doesn’t stand a chance.”

 

While she did not hear what Avril said, Olivia happened to turn her head in the direction of the stands. Seeing Avril watching fired Olivia up again.

 

“Oshawott, don’t get intimidated now! We’ve got to win that Badge for my dad and show Avril a thing or two!”

 

At first upon hearing his trainer’s voice, Oshawott looked around and chattered frantically. However, he quickly regained his composure and, despite his fear, faced Pidgeotto in an attempt to please Olivia.

 

“I see you’re not going to hold anything back,” Falkner asserted, meeting the furious gaze of his challenger. “But answer me one question… what happened to your Oshawott’s shell?”

 

“It got broken when I battled a Gurdurr the other day.”

 

Falkner narrowed his eyes, and the tone of his voice changed. “I see,” he gravely said. “If we’re going to finish this battle, let’s finish it quickly. Pidgeotto!”

 

“Pidge!” the bird Pokémon shrilled, flying near her trainer.

 

“Don’t get freaked out, Oshawott! Use Water Gun, now!”

 

Oshawott swiftly complied, but Pidgeotto used all of her speed to push cleanly through the stream of water he blew at her. He had no chance of stopping the impact of Pidgeotto’s tackle and fell backward when he got hit.

 

“Try Water Gun again!” Olivia commanded through gritted teeth.

 

“Now use Gust, Pidgeotto!”

 

By flapping her wings rapidly, Pidgeotto created a vicious wave of wind that washed over Oshawott, slashing him all over. He cringed under the harsh assault, attempting to shield his head with his stubby arms while the feelings of fear started to return.

 

“It’s time we put an end to this, Pidgeotto,” Falkner said out loud to his Pokémon. “Go use Pluck to finish this up!”

 

Both Olivia and Oshawott were so overwhelmed by Pidgeotto’s relentless attacking that they froze up, becoming unable to even mount any kind of a countermeasure. Olivia could only stare emptily at the battlefield as Oshawott lay on the ground, staring up at Pidgeotto in the same way. What took only seconds seemed like hours to them as Pidgeotto approached, but when she struck Oshawott with the force of a speeding train using her glowing beak, it all ended swiftly and abruptly.

 

“Oshawott is unable to battle!” the referee called while the Water-type Pokémon lay completely still on the wooden floor. “The winner of the round is Pidgeotto. All of the challenger’s Pokémon have fainted, so the winner is the Gym Leader, Falkner!”

 

“She… she lost…” Matt weakly whispered, stumbling to his feet. “After all of that…”

 

While Matt, Nekou, Bunny and the others climbed off the stands to approach the battle’s aftermath, Olivia simply stood rigidly still on her side for several long moments. She finally stepped forward and recalled Oshawott just as Falkner came forth as well, clapping as he walked.

 

“Well done, Pidgeotto,” he said to his winning Pokémon, who responded with a happy chirp before he recalled her. Falkner then turned to Olivia and, picking up on what he perceived as intense sadness, said, “Do not be sad, Olivia. You fought bravely. All you need to do is train more.”

 

“I won’t get the Zephyr Badge now, since you’re going away,” she spoke straight into the floor. She didn’t keep her head down long, though, and when she lifted it she had a surprising expression on her face.

 

Olivia was smiling.

 

“But really, it’s not a big deal!” she continued, her voice cheery but shaking. “I’ll just go to another Gym and get a Badge there. Thanks for battling with me.”

 

“That’s very mature of you, Olivia,” Bunny complimented.

 

“Yeah, I’m proud of you,” Matt added. He was trying to work out in his mind exactly how to keep his promise to Nekou, since Olivia losing wasn’t something he’d factored into it at any point.

 

“Thanks. Like I said, we’ll just look for another Gym and I’ll get the Badge from there instead. I mean, if I’m going to show my dad that I can get eight Badges, does it really matter which eight they are?”

 

“Isn’t it kind of hard to show things to a guy who’s not around anymore?” Avril blurted out.

 

 _“Oh, fuck no…”_ Nekou thought as her blood and that of everyone around her ran cold.

 

“What are you talking about?” Olivia responded, her features crunched into an expression of confusion.

 

Completely unaware of what she was actually doing and the circumstances around it, Avril kept going, saying, “I’m tempted to ask you the same thing. Showing Badges to a dead guy? If I’m going to consider you my rival, you can’t be crazy.”

 

“What are you talking about, ‘dead guy?’” Olivia laughed openly at Avril. “My dad just walked out on us, but I’m going to get him to come back.” Turning, she asked, “Right, Matt?”

 

Silence. Matt was shaking, and the words were lost in his throat. Only one thought ran through his mind – _“Why did she have to find out like this…”_

 

The dead silence between Matt and all the others besides Avril gave Olivia a strange chill.

 

“…Avril’s lying, right?” Her voice was becoming influenced by the fear, and it was shaking.

 

Still more silence.

 

And then. Matt answered.

 

“Avril’s telling you the truth.”

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 8**

 

 


	9. Disconnection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the Violet Gym battle, the group fractures. Bunny goes off with Dante to investigate a rumor about the Ruins of Alph, while Olivia, whose world has been shattered, shuts down and focuses only on training. Meanwhile, Giovanni orders Team Rocket to begin Operation Atlas, their emergency plan for battling Polaris. In the mountains near Blackthorn City, Renzo encounters the Prophet and her followers.

Well, I guess there’s not much more to say, besides that this chapter will be much shorter than the previous ones. Let the ride begin.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 9:** Disconnection

 

-:-

 

Eight years ago, Olivia’s world was a very different place. There were no expectations to live up to, no disappointments to face, and no villains of any kind to disrupt her peace.

 

What there was was the simple life of a child not yet tainted by the darker aspects of the outside world. There was her father, Rich, and her mother, Anabel – the two who made her existence everything a young girl could have wanted.

 

It was her father especially who spoiled her. He could almost never say no to her, often resulting in the more serious aspects of raising her getting left to Anabel. Material goods weren’t the only thing Rich spoiled Olivia with, though; without fail, he always supported her and always did what he could to help her in anything she wanted to do.

 

Those idyllic days would not last.

 

~:~

 

Night brought the drawing-down of much of the activity in Violet City’s Pokémon Center. Besides the nurse, who was working behind the front desk, the lobby was empty save for Matt, who was sitting at and staring into a table in miserable silence.

 

The air was deadly still, at least until Bunny emerged from the hallway to the lodging area and approached the table.

 

“Hey,” she said, sitting down opposite him.

 

“How’s she doing…?” Matt mumbled into the table, not even bothering to turn his eyes to Bunny.

 

In response, Bunny sighed and closed her eyes. “Nekou’s in there talking to her, but the kinds of things she’s saying… I don’t think I want to repeat them.”

 

“About me and how I let her down?”

 

“You, me, Nekou, Avril, Rich himself… I would never judge her capable of such anger just by looking at her.”

 

“It’s not just anger,” Matt corrected her, still not moving his dispirited gaze from the table. “It’s sadness, too. The kind of soul-crushing sadness that leads you to uncontrollable anger because you have nothing else left to resort to. I know it firsthand… I fear for what she’s going to be like tomorrow once the initial shock wears off.”

 

“I’ve never seen you get as angry as she is right now…”

 

“Before we ever met, when I was younger… the feeling of sheer hopelessness that drives you to carry your crippled, blinded sister into a blizzard, all but dooming you both to die in it, that’s how it feels. And then when you get saved and you think you have a way out, a way to save her, only to find out that you’re being used to carry out research into some really bad things… that’s how it really feels. I know what’s going on in that room because I’ve been there.”

 

Bunny found herself at a loss for words, owing mainly to her exhausted state of mind. Between Olivia’s breakdown and the inability to help on the parts of both herself and Matt, she couldn’t deal with it.

 

Luckily for her, and perhaps for Matt as well, the situation was abruptly interrupted by a familiar voice.

 

“Well, well, you two… so our paths cross again this soon?”

 

Bunny turned, and Matt finally lifted his head in response to what he heard. Dante was there, having approached the table.

 

“Oh, Doctor Fan…”

 

Though his smile faded only slightly, Dante didn’t wait for Bunny to finish before speaking himself. “Was just traveling through Violet on my way to my next destination and decided to stop in. Where are the other two who were with you?”

 

“In our room here,” Matt replied, his voice still not reaching much further than a mumble. “Olivia’s not doing so well.”

 

“Is that so? She’s sick?”

 

“Not in the sense you’d think. She lost her match with the Gym Leader, and then some girl who took a dislike to her accidentally revealed what really happened to her father. And as you can guess, she isn’t taking it very well. Nekou’s in there trying to calm her down, but…”

 

“Say no more.” His lighthearted demeanor gone, Dante turned half away from Matt and Bunny and stared toward the windows with a bitter look in his eyes. “When Amina died, I felt the same way. It takes time for someone who’s lost their only guiding star to find another one. I just hope for all of your sakes that it takes less time for her than it’s taken me.” Swiveling back to face Matt and Bunny again, he suddenly adopted an upbeat persona again. “Now about why I’m here. While I was staying at Mr. Pokémon’s home, I read some magazines he had and I came across something rather curious. One scientific publication, while discussing the migration of Pokémon from Unova to this country, theorized that some Pokémon believed to be native to Unova might also have been here before. I’m on my way to the Ruins of Alph to investigate one of the theories, and since we’re all here in one place, I would like to ask – Bunny, would you be interested in joining me on this research?”

 

It took a moment for what Dante had said to fully reach Bunny because of his rapid flow of thoughts, but when it did, she jumped slightly. “That’s rather surprising. Why me and not Matt?”

 

“I think he has more urgent matters to attend to than helping an old man walk around some ruins, especially after what you just told me. And don’t sell yourself short. I’d say you’ve got a great skill set. So what do you say?”

 

“I don’t know. Aren’t the Ruins of Alph closed because of that meteor strike?”

 

“Ah, but I’ve obtained special permission from the preservation bureau to go there. It’s really only closed off to the tourists and everyday trainers. Right now the bureau just wants to keep track of who goes in and out. Matters of organization, really.”

 

“Well, if you say so, it ought to be interesting. Matt, do you think Olivia would be okay with me going away for a while?”

 

“I hope so,” he blandly answered. “To be brutally honest, after how you couldn’t get through to her before, I doubt that’s going to change overnight. If you ask me, there’s nothing you could do to help her right now anyway.”

 

“Do you really think so? I don’t want her to feel like someone else is abandoning her.”

 

“She needs help from a source that isn’t me or someone she associates with me. That’s what I think…”

 

-:-

 

The next morning, Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny and Dante converged at Violet City’s southwestern exit, a stone path flanked on both sides by boxed lanterns.

 

“Well, this is where we part,” Dante announced as they arrived at the fork splitting the Ruins of Alph off from Route 32. “You keep up looking for Reshiram, Matt. I think it’s very important you find what you’re looking for.”

 

“Thanks, I guess. Good to know I have some more support for this.”

 

Leaning down onto his knee while still supporting himself on his cane, Dante moved to eye level with Olivia and smiled at the sullen, silent young woman. “And you. Don’t let your loss break your spirit and stop you from moving forward. Fight back against that despair, Olivia. Don’t get consumed by it.”

 

Olivia’s only response was to move her eyes away.

 

“I know we’ll be working together again before either of us knows it,” Bunny said while Dante stood back up, “but I can’t help but feel like I should still wish you guys luck out there. A lot can happen in a short time.”

 

Briefly glancing over to Olivia, Bunny pondered saying something to encourage her, but decided against it due to Olivia’s reaction to Dante. Instead, she simply extended a hand to Matt, which he shook after only a short hesitation.

 

“Thanks, Bunny. You be careful in there.”

 

“See you soon, everybody!”

 

Most of the enthusiasm as the two groups split off came from Bunny; she was the only one even bothering to wave goodbye. Matt and Olivia just turned away and walked off down Route 32, leaving Nekou to follow.

 

-:-

 

Jessie, James, Ariana and Dr. Zager all stared up at the screen in the scientist’s lab, their mouths open in looks of varying degrees of surprise.

 

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

 

Up on the monitor, Stacia looked back at them from Giovanni’s darkened office. She nodded in response to Ariana’s stunned inquiry, the glow from her own screen reflecting in her glasses.

 

“That is the plan Mr. Giovanni has selected, yes,” the Team Rocket boss’s secretary confirmed.

 

“Operation Atlas...” Zager repeated out loud. “…the mission to take on the weight of keeping this world the way it is… I must say, Stacia, even I never expected Giovanni to call for this.”

 

“Hello, we’re still in the dark here!” Jessie interjected.

 

“You can’t just expect us to know what’s going on,” added James. “Bring us up to speed, why don’t you?”

 

“Operation Atlas is a top-secret plan the higher-ups in Team Rocket began drawing up after what happened in Unova,” Ariana explained. “This is pretty much the worst case scenario.”

 

“We’re on war footing now,” Zager continued. “The purpose of this plan was to formulate a defense should Polaris appear in our homeland. Basically, exactly what is happening right now. Even if it’s for the sake of Team Rocket, we must defend this world from what Polaris is planning to do.”

 

“So what do we have to do, exactly?”

 

“Jessie, you and James will accompany Executive Ariana and return to Kanto,” Stacia answered. “Here, you will pick up Mr. Giovanni and together, all of you will meet with Pierce outside of Goldenrod City. That is where Polaris is planning to make a major move.”

 

“We can do tha…” Halfway through his sentence, James caught on to what Stacia had said, and his voice escalated wildly. “The boss is coming to the front lines himself?!”

 

“I told you, we’re at war now. This isn’t the first time Giovanni’s come out to participate in a mission himself, if you remember.”

 

“I wonder if we’d still be in this position now if we’d gotten that Meteonite back then…” mused Jessie. “Will we still be able to get Meowth back?”

 

“All equipment necessary for your mission will be supplied by Dr. Zager before you leave for Kanto, so that does not change.” Behind the glow of her glasses, Stacia narrowed her eyes. “Mr. Giovanni expects you here as soon as possible. I would strongly advise that you do not disappoint him. Farewell.”

 

Stacia left an atmosphere of tightened nerves in her wake once she disappeared from the screen. An uncomfortable silence hung over the lab for what all four assembled would agree was far too long before James finally broke it.

 

“I guess I’ll be the one to ask, then. What about the International Police and their files on us? As soon as the boss breaks his house arrest, they’ll crack down and take us all out.”

 

“Don’t you worry your little blue head about that,” Ariana asserted. “When Operation Atlas was initially crafted, one thing we made sure to do was plan a provision for just a case like this. We’ve got someone in place to deal with that, and let me assure you, by the time we get to Viridian, there won’t be any traces left to prove what happened. The ability to rewrite history is great, isn’t it? Too bad we can only use it once, or it’ll be figured out…”

 

“Are you finished?” Zager said with a sigh. “You three, start loading the equipment into the car. I’ll go over the map system and make sure your charts of the underground tunnels are up to date.”

 

-:-

 

After ending the video conference with Zager’s lab, Stacia left Giovanni’s office and slipped into the adjoining wardrobe room, where Giovanni was pulling on a black trench coat in front of a mirror.

 

“I’ve… given them the mission,” she said to him, “just as you directed.”

 

“Very good,” Giovanni replied, though he did not turn to her. “It is of utmost importance that every one of them understands the stakes here.”

 

“Mr. Giovanni, sir… please forgive my insubordination, but I must ask. Are these measures truly necessary? They’re very dangerous… something could happen to you and then I…”

 

“It is what must be done.” While adjusting his tie in the mirror, Giovanni continued on, explaining, “If we do not stand in Polaris’s way, who will? Team Rocket may not be what it once was, but we still have more resources available than anyone still able to resist their influence. The International Police will not be an obstacle, that virus Rosalie headed the development of will see to that. It will be between us and Polaris, with no interference – and if we lose, the result will be the same as if we did nothing. There is nothing to be lost by trying.”

 

“But without you, I’m… Team Rocket is helpless!”

 

“Team Rocket survived being led by that woman, so it can survive anything.” Having finished dressing, Giovanni turned to Stacia and set one of his hands on her shoulder, making her jump. “Remember, there is nothing that is impossible for Team Rocket. Keep that in mind while you’re in charge here.”

 

With that, Giovanni stepped past Stacia and out of the small room. A small tear formed at the corner of her eye, but she quickly composed herself, pushed her glasses up on her face and followed him.

 

-:-

 

Sometime later that afternoon, the group had attracted the attention of a young girl dressed in a gray scout uniform. As a trainer herself, she had quickly challenged Olivia to a battle, which ended up seeing Olivia’s Minccino fighting against her female Nidoran. With Matt staying inside the HR-E – which was acting as their mobile campsite for the trip down Route 32 – only Nekou was out watching the battle, dividing her attention between that and working on her laptop.

 

“Nidoran, Poison Sting!” the scout girl called to her Pokémon.

 

The Poison-type Pokémon launched a wave of glowing purple thorns from her small body, but despite the hazard they presented, Olivia barely reacted.

 

Simply staring straight ahead with a blank look in her eyes, she stiffly ordered, “Swift.”

 

Nidoran’s Poison Sting was no match for Minccino’s counterattack; every needle was swatted away by one of Minccino’s stars. With the match at a stalemate, the girl changed tactics.

 

“Double Kick!” she announced, switching to a direct attack.

 

“Tail Slap.”

 

Compared to the older, well-cared-for and better trained Minccino, the Nidoran had little chance. Her movements were fairly inept, owing to the fact that she was a relatively new Pokémon for her trainer. She kicked with her hind legs but Minccino easily evaded the attack, then countered by lashing the Poison-type with her tail repeatedly.

 

Meanwhile, Nekou was busily typing on her laptop. Taking care to not make any mistakes in what she was doing, she said quietly to herself, “There we go. With HR-E boosting the signal, I can reach the satellite no problem, then work from there.” She then looked up and took note of the battle, paying particular attention to Olivia’s completely stoic expression, which dismayed her. “I wish I could do something…”

 

-:-

 

Deep in the Ruins of Alph, Mercury and Séduire pressed on, leading their team ever closer to the Meteonite. They’d subsisted on what supplies they had, but dividing basic hiking provisions of simple food and water between six humans and one Pokémon left all of them a little less than satisfied.

 

“What’s the latest reading?” Mercury shouted to her aide with the scanning equipment.

 

“Continue following this path,” he replied. “We are not far…”

 

Before long, the hallway opened into a cavernous corridor where the sound of running water could be heard. The path continued straight on, but pushed even further underground.

 

“We’re almost there!” exclaimed the henchman with the scanner. “It’s right ahead of us!”

 

Just as the team stepped into the expanse, however, an Unown in the shape of the letter ‘Y’ materialized, startling Séduire and two of Mercury’s followers.

 

“What’re you doing, jumping out at us like that?!” the girl yelled at the small, strange creature.

 

“Hold on a minute,” Meowth drowned, before stopping to listen to the Unown’s cries. “It’s sayin’ that there’s someone upstairs that isn’t supposed to be in here.”

 

“What?” Though she had been uninterested in the Unown at first, this turn got Mercury’s attention. “Meowth, tell it to get rid of them!”

 

-:-

 

Sunlight still shined through the doorway into the ruins’ entry hall, casting a glow on Dante and Bunny while they surveyed the walls.

 

“Here, I’ve found something!” Bunny called out.

 

Dante crossed the chamber as quickly as he could, then asked, “What? What is it?”

 

“Have a look.”

 

Using a small brush, Bunny carefully moved away the dust and dirt collected on the wall. A small part of an image was already visible, and as Bunny cleared away the years of grime obscuring it, an etching of an insect Pokémon with six wings came into view.

 

“Volcarona!” Dante gasped in excitement. “I knew it!”

 

“Volcarona?”

 

“Keep cleaning the wall and see if there’s more.”

 

Dante’s encouragement proved to be useful, as within minutes Bunny had cleared enough of the etching to reveal more images – namely, those of an exploding mountain, several people and Pokémon, and the Ruins of Alph themselves. Bunny could only stare at the wall and try to understand what she was seeing.

 

“Volcarona… here?” she whispered.

 

“These etchings confirm what I discovered,” Dante explained. “Volcarona is a rare Pokémon that was considered a sun deity by ancient people. It seems that a long time ago, a volcano erupted in Johto, and the ancient Tenganists fled to their temple – in other words, this place – for safety. Afterward, the sun didn’t shine because of the ash in the atmosphere... so Volcarona replaced the sun’s light with its own.”

 

“But if Volcarona has been here all along, wouldn’t that mean Pokémon native to Unova have been in this country even before the migration project?”

 

“That it would. I want to find Volcarona in these ruins to see if this theory is actually true.”

 

While Dante and Bunny pondered their next move, the ‘Y’ Unown suddenly appeared, along with an ‘X’ Unown and a ‘G’ Unown. All three growled angrily at the pair they perceived as invaders.

 

“Oh, what a bother,” Dante said with a sigh. “We’re not interested in having a fight with you.”

 

The Unown paid him no mind, and attacked by issuing forth a flurry of energy spheres, with each Unown’s set taking on its own color. These three Hidden Powers fell short of their targets, striking the ground around Dante and Bunny’s feet.

 

“They’re not listening… Bunny, I’m afraid we’re going to have to fight them.”

 

Mirroring Dante’s action, Bunny started to reach for one of her Poké Balls, though something she noticed in the eyes of the Unown unnerved her. “Is something wrong with them?” she questioned. “Their eyes are so empty…”

 

Dante could not even get a single syllable of a response out before roughly a dozen more Unown warped into the room. They immediately synchronized with the others, resulting in the whole horde’s power increasing substantially. The chamber filled with the Hidden Power energy each Unown called forth and rained down on the pair of humans.

 

Thrown in opposite directions by the countless explosions, Dante and Bunny were forced onto and fell through individual trapdoors leading to two different places.

 

-:-

 

The next day brought events very similar to those of the previous one. Olivia had once again gotten into a battle with a young camper, and once again, Nekou was the only one watching the battle, even if she was still working on her computer.

 

This time, the battle was between Olivia’s Lillipup and the boy’s Seedot. Both were about equal in spirit, and traded blows in a spirited rally. The Seedot had one disadvantage, though – her tactics, which mainly comprised of Bullet Seed punctuated by the occasional Quick Attack, failed to present much physical threat to Lillipup. As a result, Olivia’s Pokémon never became frightened, allowing him to wear out and ultimately defeat his opponent.

 

“Oh man, I can’t believe I lost!” the boy shouted to the open sky after recalling his fainted Seedot. “I really thought I’d beat you!”

 

Olivia, meanwhile, recalled Lillipup and stiffly walked up to the boy, all while remaining silent. She stared at him with an icy look, then pushed her open hand toward him.

 

“Geez, you can’t cut me some slack? The trainers out here are getting more and more selfish with money lately!”

 

The camper thrust a small handful of bills into Olivia’s hand, then turned sharply and stormed off.

 

He didn’t notice Olivia mouth “thank you” after him.

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, quite a distance away on the craggy hills of Route 45, Renzo staggered out of the shadowy interior of Dark Cave.

 

“F-finally made it…” he said to himself. Being lost inside Dark Cave for several days had taken its toll on him, and the cold weather on Route 45 didn’t help. Pulling up his scarf to cover even more of his face than usual, he looked around in all directions, seeking the path forward to Blackthorn City.

 

What he found crushed his confidence, however. The rugged landscape spread before his eyes offered no apparent way to advance north. Insurmountable cliffs, thick patches of tree cover and other obstacles created a treacherous, impossible-to-navigate route.

 

Shivering under his poncho, which afforded him surprisingly little protection from the cold, Renzo staggered over to a nearby rock and sat down against it. The great difficulty of going north as he’d desired took away all his energy.

 

“If this is where it ends,” he uttered, looking out over the vast route, “I’ll be along to give you your comeuppance sooner than I thought I’d be.” Peering down into his poncho, he addressed the spheres containing his Drowzee, Gurdurr and Cottonee, saying, “Sorry I couldn’t live up to what you three deserved… I did my best for all of you.”

 

Feeling extremely weak, Renzo leaned back against the rock and shut his eyes; before long, he was out cold.

 

No more than a few minutes later, however, multiple sets of footsteps came down the trail near Dark Cave’s entrance.

 

“Come on, it’s just ahead,” a man’s voice shouted. “I swear I heard someone walking around.”

 

The Tenganist prophet emerged from the corner near the cave, accompanied by two of her followers, one male and one female. They had three Pokémon with them; a pair of Donphan and a Stantler.

 

“There, I see him,” announced the cloaked prophet. “Check and see if he’s alive.”

 

Heeding their leader’s words, the man and woman ran to Renzo’s side and attempted to help him up.

 

“Unresponsive,” the woman called back to her leader, “but he’s still breathing. He’s alive.”

 

Gesturing to the Pokémon to move forth, the prophet declared, “We will bring him back to the base and heal him.”

 

“Are you sure, my lady?” the man questioned. “Would that not be a risk?”

 

“We cannot simply leave this young man here to die. If we did, we would be no better than Polaris… or that man Ghetsis… so, we must act. It is through acts of mercy to the innocent that we apologize for what we must do.”

 

The prophet’s explanation sufficiently convinced her followers of her decision’s merits, so they lifted Renzo’s unconscious body onto their shoulders and moved him onto the backs of their two Donphan.

 

-:-

 

A vast, orange sky barely fouled by clouds spread out over Route 32 the next evening. Olivia sat alone on one of the hills that dotted the landscape near the route’s southern end, taking the sight in while locked in silent contemplation.

 

Her reverie was only broken when Nekou walked up and sat down alongside her.

 

“Hey, kid, how’re you doing?” she asked, offering Olivia one of the chocolate sticks she was eating, which the girl accepted. “You know, Roselia was great today against that fisherman’s Poliwag.”

 

“Thanks…” Olivia mumbled, “…but I just… I just don’t get it.”

 

“Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Nekou was surprisingly sincere in her offer. “I’m a shoulder you can cry on.”

 

“I just… don’t know what to feel. I’ve been battling these last few days because I wanted to find a reason for it… but I can’t… without my dad… I don’t understand it at all.”

 

“You know, I don’t believe he’s completely gone, you know? I believe there are places people go when they die. He may have made mistakes, but I’m sure he was a good man. He’s probably watching you right now.”

 

“Do… you really think so?” Olivia’s breathing was labored under the stress of the emotions she was suppressing, so she spoke very slowly.

 

“Yeah, I do. If I might offer you some advice, though, you have to live for yourself. Find your own reasons for continuing on the path you’ve chosen. You want to keep being a trainer, right?”

 

“I guess…”

 

“Then find what makes you want to follow that path. You don’t have to follow anyone’s rules but your own, so live for your own reasons. That was something Maman taught me a long time ago, and my life has been so much better since then.” Looking out over the landscape, Nekou continued, “There’s only one way to get by in this world, and that’s by not letting others shackle you.”

 

“But I don’t… my dad isn’t coming back, so I can’t fight to get him to come back…”

 

“Just find something else you really want to fight for while not forgetting him. We’re all here to support you, so you’re not alone.”

 

“You mean you’re here to support me…” This remark was tinged with bitterness, and Olivia turned her head away from Nekou.

 

“You know, Olivia… it might not always seem like it, but Matt does care about you. He really does try to take care of you.”

 

“What makes you say that? He lied to me all this time about where my dad was and now he’s been hiding instead of facing what he did!”

 

“And I’m sure he feels horrible about that. But there is no doubt in my mind that he only sheltered you as he did because he believed it to be right. He only hasn’t been around the last couple of days because he doesn’t want to harm you further by making mistakes right now.”

 

“How can I trust him again, though?”

 

“You don’t have to. Not until he earns that trust again. But for now, I’m here for you.”

 

“…am I a bad person for all those things I said back in Violet City? I am, aren’t I?”

 

“You made a mistake, it’s not a big deal. I say, so what if you don’t have a perfect image? Perfect people, the ones who make no mistakes, have no flaws and have the world cater to them, those people are shit. This is an ugly world, so it needs ugly people like you and me to protect it. Do you understand?”

 

“I… I think…” Suddenly, Olivia began tearing up. “Please don’t leave me.”

 

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

 

Olivia and Nekou moved closer together so Olivia could rest her head on Nekou’s shoulder. Nekou then took out her music player, gave Olivia one of the headphones, and they started eating the chocolate sticks and listening to music together.

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 9**


	10. The Beasts Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury and Seduire unearth the Meteonite, unleashing chaos upon the group when its energy drives the Ground-type Pokemon in Union Cave wild. However, the biggest danger may not be a Pokemon, but a danger from within the group itself. Renzo awakens in the Tenganist hideout and learns that he is near Blackthorn City and that he was saved by the Prophet, who survived the first of Ghetsis’s purges of her people and emerged as a symbol of hope for them.

This chapter is going to feature some scenes with elevated violence, nothing too bad but it’s probably worth noting nevertheless.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 10:** The Beasts Within

 

-:-

 

“What’s that up ahead?” Séduire shouted, noticing that the tunnel just a short distance away from the team was filled with a glowing red light. “Is that it?”

 

“That’s…” The one of Mercury’s followers who was monitoring the energy field in the ruins forcefully tapped his finger against his computer screen, frustrated by the momentary lag in its system. When the scan finally did complete, though, his eyes widened in surprise and excitement. “That’s it! The Meteonite is right ahead of us! Let’s go get it!”

 

“You heard him, all of you!” barked Mercury to her other followers. “Get moving!”

 

No more words were spoken between the members of Polaris as they rallied forth to their goal. With Meowth bringing up the rear, the team charged into the final chamber of the altered Ruins of Alph.

 

In that chamber, right before their eyes, awaited their prize – a large, rugged stone, partially buried in the earth and cloaked in red light. It was the only source of illumination in the room, but gave off enough light to show how small the room was.

 

“We found it… the Meteonite!” another of Mercury’s followers cheered. “Father is going to be pleased with our work for Polaris!”

 

The follower carrying the tracking equipment curled his facial features and waved his hand in front of his nose. “It’ll be nice to get out of this musty air.”

 

After nodding toward the Meteonite, Mercury took out a transmitter and turned it on.

 

“Mercury…?” Séduire questioned, unsure of what was to come next.

 

“I’m calling Getriebe and Jeunes at the Purine Base so they’ll be ready to receive us,” Mercury replied, anticipating Séduire’s question. “You just have Meowth get the Unown to send us there.”

 

-:-

 

A large, sleek jet, surprisingly nimble and silent for its size, sailed through the cold night sky over the border between Johto and Kanto.

 

Inside the craft, Finansielle had an office that was furnished well enough to pass as one inside a building. The Chromosome was sitting at her desk at the far end of the cabin, facing a plush, cream-colored sofa, a glass table and a large video monitor. Behind her on the wall was a floor-to-ceiling, backlit Polaris logo.

 

Finansielle was reviewing papers when one of her aides entered the office carrying a brown file folder. He took only a few steps inside before halting and waiting to be acknowledged.

 

“What is it?” she asked after briefly pretending to not see him.

 

“We have the report on Zinzolin’s actions in Violet City fully compiled, Lady Finansielle,” the man stiffly replied, handing over the folder as carefully as he could. “There is also a call for you.”

 

“Patch it in,” Finansielle commanded, showing little interest in him while thumbing through the contents of the file.

 

After bowing to his superior, the man pressed a small button on the lapel of his black suit jacket. The screen in Finansielle’s office immediately activated to display Mercury and Séduire.

 

Finansielle smiled wryly. “You two, eh? I didn’t expect a call from two people I imagined would be underground for a while.”

 

“Well we got done sooner rather than later,” Mercury replied, taking on a smile herself. “The Meteonite’s safe with us here in Goldenrod City.”

 

“You will have to wait for some time before we’re ready to extract it, though. Actually…” Looking back in the file, Finansielle came up with an idea. “Mercury, you head to the Guanosine Base and help them out with the research they’re conducting there. As for you, Séduire… how would you like a little playtime with that boy of yours you’re so fascinated with?”

 

Behind her mask, Séduire’s eyes lit up. “You want me to go get Matt? Finally?”

 

“No, no, I don’t want him brought in just yet. His little traveling show is going to be headed through Azalea Town soon, which means they’re heading in the direction of Goldenrod City and the Purine Base. I want you to ambush them in Ilex Forest and give them some trouble. See if you can’t keep them out of Goldenrod City until the extraction of the Meteonite can be carried out. I don’t want any interference like what he did in Violet City.”

 

“I’ll do what I can, Finansielle.”

 

At that, Mercury and Séduire ended the call, causing the video link between the Purine Base and Finansielle’s jet to be severed. Her aide also quickly excused himself, leaving Finansielle alone in her office once more.

 

“And so the game begins, just as I predicted. Matt Chiaki, let’s see if you can live up to your grandfather’s name.”

 

-:-

 

 Nekou and Olivia stayed on the hill until nearly no sunlight remained, then returned to the campsite near where Matt had parked the HR-E for the night. He was still nowhere to be seen, so they assumed that he was still inside the mobile home and decided to make a campfire for themselves. Both of them contributed using their Pokémon; Olivia had her Lillipup gather sticks, which Nekou’s Zorua then ignited with Incinerate.

 

Once the fire was finished, the two sat near it. Olivia just stared into the flame, while Nekou started looking through the book she’d taken from the library of Earl’s Pokémon Academy.

 

When Olivia finally turned away from the fire, she noticed the book and immediately questioned, “What are you reading?”

 

“This is an old book Matt’s grandfather wrote with his assistant. It’s got stories on their explorations and research into the ancient Tenganist people.”

 

“And where did you get that?”  


While Nekou was describing the book to Olivia, Matt had stepped out of the nearby brush. He looked somewhat haggard, with unkempt hair and a bag under his visible eye. His step was unsteady as he stumbled over to where they were sitting and lowered himself to join them.

 

“I think I asked you a question,” he pressed.

 

“I borrowed it from the library,” Nekou answered, grinning.

 

“Yeah, knowing you, you stole it like Dr. Fantomos’s vodka, but I can’t do anything about that now. Did you at least find anything interesting in it?”

 

“Yeah, one thing, actually. He and Jacob Alexison, his assistant at the time, keep bringing up someone named Saeko Oryo in this book.”

 

“I don’t know that name. I never met that person, nor did my grandfather ever tell me about her.” Looking past Nekou, Matt saw Olivia trying and failing to avoid glaring angrily at him, and his heart sank even further. “Olivia…”

 

Without a word, Nekou moved back, allowing Matt and Olivia to have a clear line of sight to each other.

 

“I don’t have anything to say,” Olivia lied, keeping her voice to a raspy whisper.

 

“Olivia, please, listen to me.” Matt scrunched up his face, but water still formed at the corner of his eye anyway. “I didn’t want to hurt you, really. Please let me help you.”

 

“And what makes you think you can help me after all of that?” No longer able to restrain her emotions, Olivia simply screamed as loud as she could with what energy she had, startling a sleeping flock of Pidove out of a nearby tree. “No, I don’t need your help, not after what you claimed was help before!”

 

“But…”

 

Olivia completely disregarded Matt’s attempt to speak and continued ranting. “You lied to me for five years about him! It’s your fault I thought I could get him to come back! No, just… no. I don’t need you. I’ll find my own reasons for going on. I don’t need you at all.”

 

With the entirety of her pent-up anger spent, Olivia turned her back on Matt and Nekou and buried her head in her arms.

 

“O-Oli…” Matt fell onto his back, his body suddenly overcome by an overwhelming exhaustion.

 

“Just tell me one thing,” Nekou said, leaning over him. “Why did you do it?”

 

“It was what Rich wanted.”

 

“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit, Matt. You and I both know he wouldn’t have wanted it to go on for as long as it did. Why did you let it continue for five years?”

 

“I thought…” Matt shut his eyes and sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he could not avoid Nekou’s questioning. “Innocence is something that should be protected,” he explained, making sure to speak loudly enough for Olivia to hear even if his voice was weak. “Nobody should be robbed of their innocence and thrust into the harshness of reality at a young age. I didn’t want her to have to grow up too fast like I did. I took it upon myself to preserve her youth for as long as possible, even though I knew it would inevitably end like this…”

 

“You want to know what I think about that?”

 

Cringing in anticipation of some harsh words, Matt replied, “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

 

“I think you did what you really believed was right, but you just fucked up. Stop beating yourself up. Everyone fucks up at one time or another.”

 

“What I did was worse than just a mere fuckup, if you ask me.”

 

Nekou leaned even closer to Matt’s face, locking her eyes steadily with his. “So why don’t you tell me why you think that?”

 

“I…” Matt suddenly realized that Nekou was right. He had no real reasoning for thinking the way he did. “I guess I see what you mean… but still, I was just thinking about how it was for me. By the time I was her age I had to put myself aside to take care of Amanda. I didn’t want Olivia to have to have that same feeling of being alone and needing to grow up quickly. There’s still so much she should experience before then.”

 

“You did what you had to do,” Nekou said, never breaking her gaze from Matt’s tired eye. “But you can’t stop living just because you missed out on things in the past. Live in the present the way you want without concern for the past or future, like I do. And Olivia’s not alone, because she has all of us. So you fucked up by letting the past consume you, but it’s something you can get past.”

 

“I guess you’re right… I’ll have to figure out some way to do better for her.”

 

Just then, the tension at the campsite was interrupted by two sounds – approaching footsteps in the nearby brush, accompanied by gentle harp music.

 

“Well I’ll be damned,” Matt uttered as he propped himself up. “I recognize that…”

 

Olivia recognized it as well, and turned around in a hurry. “Nando?”

 

A figure wrapped in a long green cape emerged from the foliage, with what was visible of his face within his flowing black hair spread into a gentle smile. The source of the music was the golden, Mew-shaped harp in his arms, which he continued to strum as he walked to the fire, sat down and removed his wide-brimmed green hat, which he set down on the ground.

 

“It is a pleasure to meet you once again, Olivia,” he said, his soft voice flavored by a noticeable accent. “Matt, you as well. It has been far too long.”

 

“So who’s this Casanova here?”

 

Though Nekou had directed her sarcastic question to Matt, the man answered it himself. “I am Nando, the Pokémon minstrel,” he replied in a sing-song manner. “I met Olivia for the first time five years ago when she was with her parents in a far-off land.”

 

“So what are you doing here in Johto now?”

 

“As always, Matt, I am collecting both the Gym Badges and Contest Ribbons of this country.”

 

“How many Badges do you have now?” Olivia asked, returning to the circle with the others.

 

“Here, Miss Olivia, allow me to show you.”

 

After stashing his harp in the tan-colored messenger bag slung around his shoulder, Nando produced a silvery-blue, oval-shaped case. When he opened it, a collection of eight symbols was arranged inside. They were a round disc with a ladybug pattern, a yellow diamond, a purple cloud shape with silver eyes, an orange fist, a gray octagon, a blue water drop, a flower in rainbow colors, and a yellow circle with a smaller circle inside.

 

“Eight Badges, the number required to enter the Pokémon League,” Nando said. “Hive, Plain, Fog, Storm, Boulder, Cascade, Rainbow and Marsh.”

 

“Wait…” Olivia got to within an inch of Nando’s Badges, examining each one carefully. “Aren’t half of these from Kanto?”

 

“Ah yes, you see, the Pokémon League of the Tohjo Continent is shared between Kanto and Johto. You need eight Badges, but they do not need to be all from one region or the other.”

 

“Olivia, you could get a Kanto Badge to fill that missing slot,” Nekou suggested while lounging on the ground. “There are a couple good Gyms in Viridian City and Pewter City.”

 

“I’ll… think about that.”

 

As he noticed Olivia’s downcast attitude, Nando’s smile faded into a blank look of uncertainty. “Miss Olivia, what is wrong?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“Okay, I respect that.” Nando put away his Badges, took his harp back out and turned to Matt. “Matt, are you not pursuing the Gyms of this country as well?”

 

By this time, Matt had finally properly sat up again. “I’m not interested in any of that. I’m following the Frontier Society path, only because I’m seeking something I think only trainers like the Frontier Brains can lead me to. Speaking of which, I saw your battle at the Battle Arcade.”

 

“That was quite the competition,” Nando gently chuckled, his smile returning. “Did you partake in it as well?”

 

“Yeah, and I learned things from watching you that helped me win myself. Now we’re heading through Azalea Town to get to the Gym for Olivia, then on to Goldenrod City for their Gym and the Battle Factory.”

 

“I see. As I already have the eight Badges I require, I am traveling through the Frontier Society to prepare for the Pokémon League. I am going directly to Goldenrod City, then I will be heading to the Battle Café in the National Park, followed by the Battle Hall in Ecruteak City. I would recommend that you go to the latter as well.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

Nando shut his eyes and ran his fingers across the strings of his harp. “Ecruteak City is a beautiful place steeped in mythology. You will love it. Of course…” After opening his eyes, he continued, “…if you are looking for battles the Battle Hall has quite the reputation. It is famous for the intense tournaments held there, in which sixteen trainers face off in what is said to be the harshest challenge of the entire Frontier Society.”

 

“I’ll have to look forward to it,” Matt said, bitterly staring into the fire.

 

Turning his attention back to Olivia, Nando asked, “Miss Olivia, would you like to train with me for a short while? I have a new Pokémon I would like to practice with, and every bit of training will pay off for you at the next Gym.”

 

Olivia did not immediately reply, and as she was facing away from Matt and Nekou, both became nervous that something Nando had said had upset her. Their fears were unfounded, however, as she looked fairly cheerful when she turned around.

 

“Sounds like a good idea, actually. Can you show me who I’m up against?”

 

“Of course. Pansage, make your entrance!”

 

Nando pulled a Poké Ball from his bag and threw it, releasing a small, green simian Pokémon. A growth on his head took the shape of a small tree.

 

Realizing this was a Pokémon she did not know, Olivia took out her Pokédex and scanned him.

 

_“Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon. Type is Grass. It’s good at finding Berries and gathers them from all over. It’s kind enough to share them with friends.”_

 

“That Pokémon suits you,” Olivia commented, smiling for the first time in what seemed like forever to Matt.

 

“Thank you. Now, who shall my Pansage be facing?”

 

“Let me think… oh, I know. Lillipup, let’s play!”

 

Olivia brought out her Lillipup to face Nando’s Pansage, and he shook out his fur after materializing, having not expected to be battling so late – not long before midnight, in fact. On the sidelines, Nekou quietly took note of Olivia’s choice and lowered her eyebrows.

 

“And do allow me to say, that Lillipup is quite a fine choice for you, Miss Olivia.”

 

“Thanks, but I think it’s better if I show you… Lillipup, Tackle!”

 

Thinking that she could get a drop on Pansage by abruptly giving an order, Olivia sent Lillipup running forth at the Grass-type as fast as his small legs could carry him.

 

Nando wasn’t fooled by her tactic, though. “Vine Whip!” he softly but sharply commanded.

 

A long, rope-like vine emerged from Pansage’s wrist, and he snapped it in Lillipup’s direction, lashing the small Normal-type Pokémon back. Lillipup whimpered, but picked himself off the ground and remained in the battle.

 

“If at first you don’t succeed, right? Lillipup, try Tackle again!”

 

“I commend you for your courage, but if you do the same thing, so shall I. Pansage, repeat the motion!”

 

This time, though, as Pansage’s Vine Whip careened through the air toward Lillipup, Olivia had another plan in mind. “Stop there and Bite it!”

 

Skidding to a stop, Lillipup opened his mouth and bit down on Pansage’s vine with his sharp fangs. The shock reverberated back through the vine to Pansage, whose body shuddered.

 

“Well, well, it seems I may have underestimated you a bit, Miss Olivia.” Turning his eyes upward to look directly at Olivia, Nando powerfully said, “I would say that means this is where we really get started!”

 

-:-

 

Deep underground in another portion of the Ruins of Alph, Dante worked his way down a dark hallway with only a small flashlight to guide him. His road forward was narrow, and his cane clattered loudly against the damp stone floor with each step he took.

 

That narrow road soon led him to a spacious, circular chamber. Realizing after a quick glance around that his meager flashlight would get him nowhere in searching the area, he instead turned his attention to the walls near the chamber’s entrance.

 

“Let’s see… there should be a sign right about here…”

 

Dante ran his fingers over the runes carved into the wall while he stared at them, carefully deciphering their meaning. The same indications of Volcarona as the clues on the upper floor existed there, but this wall was covered in characters establishing a completely different context.

 

After several minutes of study, Dante pulled away from the wall. “That was an easy puzzle. Volcarona, you’re going to be quite an interesting Pokémon to study.”

 

After freeing up his hand by temporarily holding his flashlight in his mouth, Dante reached into his coat and produced a stark white Premier Ball. His Alakazam emerged from the sphere once it was thrown.

 

“Alakazam, use Psyshock,” Dante directed, taking the flashlight back into his hand. “Straight ahead.”

 

With a nod, Alakazam complied. He crossed the spoons he held, and a silver bolt of energy arced from where they met. That energy flowed straight into the darkness and struck something, which responded with a shrill cry.

 

In an instant, the entire chamber was flooded with light as the Volcarona unfurled her vivid orange wings. Smaller embers flickered from the white fur covering her body, and she cried out angrily a second time.

 

“Volcarona, I’m honored to be in your presence!” Dante announced, putting the flashlight away. “However, it will not be Alakazam I will be facing you with. Haxorus!”

Dante’s Haxorus joined her trainer, Alakazam and Volcarona once he released her from her Poké Ball. She had to squint in the bright light radiating from Volcarona’s body at first, but quickly adjusted.

 

“So, shall we now get started? I would like to study what you’re capable of!”

 

-:-

 

The next morning, a small amount of sunlight peeked through the perpetual cloud cover over Route 33, a short road connecting Azalea Town to the Union Cave. The rainstorms that regularly drenched the route had let up for the time being, so a few trainers were out with their Pokémon. It was a fairly dreary, humid morning.

 

Off the main path, where the terrain started to morph into the mountainous landscape to the north, the detective named Looker emerged from behind a rock. Standing near the edge of a short cliff, he removed a smartphone-like device from his heavy brown trench coat and looked at it. On its screen were several colorful charts, all displaying fluctuating readings.

 

“Just like the energy of that night on Route 29, it is,” he growled to himself. “Nearby has happened something with that energy…”

 

Looker scowled, put the phone back in his coat, and jogged off in the direction of an entrance to the cave.

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, on the Route 32 side of Union Cave, Matt, Olivia and Nekou – having split from Nando the night before – had arrived at a Pokémon Center outpost. At the main desk, they had just finished loading their Poké Balls into trays for the nurse to heal their Pokémon.

 

“That’ll be five hundred dollars each for the two of you without a Pokédex.”

 

“Five hundred?” Matt gasped. “You’re not even charging the same as the Pokémon Center in Cherrygrove?”

 

“We don’t get as much traffic out here, so we have to meet expectations somehow.”

 

“What does that…”

 

“Matt, fork it over,” Nekou interrupted. “I ain’t got all day. A thousand.”

 

“Should’ve figured you’d make me pay for you. I guess that’s the benefit of doing all my lectures, though, being able to pay for things.”

 

Matt briefly exchanged his card with the nurse to pay the charge, and after she returned it to him, she set about moving the three trays of Poké Balls to the healing machines.

 

“Nekou, do you think I’ll do okay against the Gym Leader in Azalea Town?” Olivia questioned, her voice quiet and wavering. “I’m afraid I might mess up again…”

 

In an attempt to give Olivia some physical reassurance, Nekou put both of her hands on Olivia’s shoulders. “Failure isn’t something to fear, but you shouldn’t expect to fail either. Go in with confidence and I doubt you can be stopped. Remember what we talked about? Fight for your own reasons. Do that, and I have complete faith in you. Have you found a reason you want to keep going?”

 

“I… I think so.” As she spoke, Olivia looked down at the floor, unable to even come close to making eye contact with Nekou. “I think I want to get better to put Avril and Renzo in their places. I can’t let Avril get far ahead of me, considering she likely got the Zephyr Badge… and Renzo just has it coming after our last battle.”

 

“That’s the spirit,” Nekou said with a broad smile. “Now just let that drive you.”

 

Matt had been standing by and listening quietly to the exchange. He was so caught up in paying attention that he didn’t notice the nurse return with the trays until she announced as much, making him jump in surprise.

 

As Matt, Nekou and Olivia lined up at the desk to collect their Pokémon, however, the nurse’s Chansey came running from the storerooms in the back of the Pokémon Center.

 

“Chansey, what’s wrong?” the nurse asked in response to her Pokémon’s excited chatter. “Something’s happened?”

 

“Chansey! Chansey!!” the Pokémon kept crying, gesturing wildly in the direction from which she had come.

 

“I think she wants us to follow her. Come on!”

 

The nurse climbed over the side of her desk and ran after her Pokémon, with the others following after a brief moment. They were led back to a storage room, and as soon as the nurse looked inside, she screamed.

 

“What happened?” Nekou immediately questioned the nurse.

 

“Look inside!” she hissed.

 

Matt and Olivia both found their muscles tensed as they edged around the door with Nekou to have a look inside the room. What they found left them staring, wide-eyed.

 

The room was in shambles, looking as if it had been ransacked by a thief. Shredded boxes were thrown everywhere, shelves were knocked over, and food – both processed Pokémon food and raw berries – was scattered all over the floor. Perhaps the most unexpected piece of destruction in the room, however, was the large hole punched right through the floor. Dumbstruck, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and the nurse all slowly stepped inside.

 

“Can’t say this is what I expected,” Nekou remarked.

 

“What do you think happened?” Olivia wondered aloud as she examined some of the damaged shelves. While running her hand over the metal, she suddenly found something. “Nekou, come over here! I found some sign of… something!” As soon as Nekou approached her, Olivia grabbed her friend’s arm and placed her hand on the same spot that Olivia herself had been checking moments earlier. “See? Feel that right there.”

 

“Oh, I feel it, that’s for sure. Only a Pokémon could have slashed into the metal like this. Good job finding it, Olivia.”

 

“The Pokémon from Union Cave must have decided to break in here and steal our stored food,” deduced the nurse. “But why? They’ve never shown any hostility to us here before.”

 

“That tunnel ought to go back to where they came from, right?” Matt asked, pointing at the hole cut into the floor. “We’ll go down there and investigate it. If it leads through Union Cave, we need to pass through there anyway.”

 

“If you would, that would be awfully helpful of you. Just call me when you find out what happened, would you?”

 

-:-

 

In a far-off, isolated cave, Pierce stood quietly by, watching as the Tenganists prepared their equipment and Pokémon, for a purpose he was only beginning to understand. Each of their small band seemed to have their own task to carry out under the prophet’s direction, he observed, and the Pokémon they possessed covered an exotic range from multiple regions.

 

Pressing a button on the side of the device strapped to his wrist, Pierce activated a video transmission to Zager’s laboratory. “Dr. Zager,” he said as the scientist’s rumpled visage took form on the screen.

 

“Ah, Pierce, I was wondering when I would hear from you.” Zager’s already raspy voice was made even more raw-sounding by the static in the transmitter’s connection. “What’s the current situation?”

 

“All the supplies have been delivered and the intelligence Giovanni wanted me to pass on has been given. I have to say, things have really escalated...”

 

“Tell me about it. The fact they requested bombs when we told them Polaris is planning to do something in Goldenrod City using the Magnet Train surprised me.” Zager briefly turned away from the screen, but quickly returned. “Oh, I was meaning to ask you to investigate something for me.”

 

“What?”

 

“I recently received some unusual intelligence regarding the Tenganists from one of our operatives, and it’s quite suspicious. What caught my eye is that the name Saeko Oryo is all over it. This might be someone who is very important, so I want you to learn what you can about her and relay it to me right away. I want to get firsthand accounts of who this is from the Tenganists themselves.”

 

“Understandable. I’ll do what I can and get back to you. Pierce out.” With his conversation terminated, Pierce turned his attention to the Tenganist prophet, who was in the center of the cave giving orders to her followers while holding her child in her arms. He approached her with slow, deliberate steps and stood rigidly before her, but did not speak. Instead, he merely watched her with his words stuck in his throat.

 

Eventually she turned around and initiated the exchange herself. “Oh, it’s you. What is it?”

 

“One of my superiors wants me to talk to you about something. Or should I say, someone. I’ve been informed of someone named Saeko Oryo, and I’d like to know if she is linked to…”

 

Pierce got caught up in his own words and didn’t realize how the prophet had frozen up. He only took notice when, well before he even finished his question, she smacked him across the face with enough force to nearly knock him over.

 

“Don’t you _ever_ say that name here again,” she growled, while Pierce could only stare at her in shock and hold his face. “We will take everything you’ve given us and dissolve this alliance immediately if you make that mistake a second time. Am I making myself clear?”

 

“What’s going on?” Emerging from one of the cave’s side passages, Renzo had already obscured his face once again using his scarf and hat. “I demand to know where I am!”

 

“I take it you managed to heal him, Alesia,” the prophet said to the auburn-haired, apron-wearing young woman who had emerged next to Renzo.

 

“With my power it was easy,” Alesia responded. “I fixed him up good and quick.”

 

“Who are you people? Just where am I?”

 

“We are the Tenganists,” explained the prophet, “a race targeted for extinction by Ghet… Polaris. Many of our dwindling numbers have banded together to fight for survival by any means necessary.”

 

“You were badly battered and unconscious in the thin air up in the mountains when you were found,” Alesia continued. “Our leader brought you here and I healed you using my power of Transcendence.”

 

“Transcendence?” Renzo wondered.

 

“It is a special power from within that many of us possess, manifesting differently in each individual. Alesia’s is the power to heal injury and disease, so make sure you thank her for that. Now... you asked where you are. You are currently just north of Blackthorn City, just outside the city’s borders.”

 

_“I made it to Blackthorn! Finally!”_

 

“Are you sure revealing the location of this base is a good idea?” Pierce abruptly questioned.

 

The prophet sharply turned to face Pierce. “This base is soon to be abandoned. Once our equipment is prepared, we will leave.”

 

While Pierce and the prophet continued their discussion, Renzo looked to Alesia in confusion. “Just who is she?”

 

“The symbol of hope rising from the ashes for us all,” Alesia replied, turning somber and reflective. “They say she was there when it all began. When Ghetsis annihilated the very first community in his campaign against our people, she was the only one to survive. As our people were systematically killed, she emerged as a symbol of hope to both protect us and empower us to fight back.”

 

“Do you know who she is under the cloak?” Renzo was genuinely interested in Alesia’s story, and was concentrating intensely on it.

 

“Only a few of us know who she really is, those who have been alongside her the longest. We just know her as the prophet of our people. If it wasn’t for her, we as a people would not exist anymore. We would have fallen into complete despair long ago.”

 

Renzo glanced back up at the prophet, who was still speaking to Pierce. He could not put words to what he was feeling.

 

-:-

 

Matt, Nekou and Olivia were underground, having followed the tunnel from the ransacked room of the Pokémon Center into the main passages of Union Cave. It was a dank, dark place, and their exploration was guided only by the lantern Matt held, its light reflecting off the water dripping down the stone walls.

 

“It feels like we’ve been down here forever,” Olivia complained. “I don’t like it here.”

 

“You gotta deal with caves if you’re going to be a traveling trainer… because for some fucking reason the government insists on building roads right through them.”

 

Nekou’s cynicism made Matt smile, but he remained silent and focused on the path ahead.

 

In short order, he spotted something lying on the ground, and held the lantern toward it.

 

“What’s that?” Olivia ran ahead, picked up the object she’d spotted, and quizzically examined it. It was a hard, bulbous and yellow piece of fruit. “A Sitrus Berry?”

 

“Doubtlessly something taken from the Pokémon Center.”

 

While Olivia and Nekou talked, Matt continued shining the light around, looking to see if the thieves were anywhere nearby. At first there appeared to be no other living things around, but an insistent uneasy feeling compelled him to keep searching.

 

When a threat finally appeared, though, it wasn’t he who saw it coming. Nekou was the one to react, pulling both Matt and Olivia out of the way of a flurry of rocks flung in their direction.

 

“What was that?!” Matt gasped, falling to his hands and knees.

 

“Watch your fucking head, that’s what.” Nekou picked up the lantern and held it in the direction of where the rocks had come from, revealing four Geodude with dull, blank looks in their eyes.

 

“Think those Geodude are the Pokémon we’re looking for?” asked Olivia. “Wait, no, they can’t be. The damage in the Pokémon Center looked like claw marks.”

 

“Good deduction, Olivia. Something’s clearly wrong with these Geodude, though…”

 

Looking over at the four Pokémon, Matt opened the eyepiece covering his artificial left eye. “There’s some kind of strange energy residue here that looks like it’s affecting them. Wait… this is just like what happened on Route 29 with the Pawniard!”

 

What Matt failed to realize, however, was that Olivia still had deep fear of what had happened that day. His bringing it back up triggered those fears, and the color drained away from her face.

 

“I’ll stop them,” she said, her voice shaking as much as the arm she held one of her Poké Balls in. “It won’t happen again…”

 

Her Oshawott appeared from the Poké Ball and stood between her and the Geodude. Matt wasn’t thrilled by what he was seeing, though, and started to reach out to her.

 

“Matt, stop right there,” Nekou scolded him, making him freeze up. “Don’t make the same mistake you made before. She can’t be sheltered forever.”

 

“Y-you’re right…”

 

The Geodude weren’t interested in anything the three had to say. To them, Matt, Nekou and Olivia were intruders, and with the energy of the Meteonite exaggerating their thoughts, they attacked again. This time, their four Rock Throw attacks were all directed at Oshawott.

 

“Get out of the way and use Water Gun!”

 

One advantage Oshawott decisively held over all of the Geodude was in terms of speed; though the four Rock-and-Ground-type Pokémon attacked as a group, Oshawott was able to effectively sidestep around each stone thrown his way before retaliating with a gush of water washing over all four.

 

“Yeah, you go for it!” Nekou called out in encouragement, even as two of the Geodude managed to rise for more fighting. “Oshawott, you too! Both of you have this!”

 

Nekou’s words prompted a smile from Olivia – her first in some time – as her spirit was uplifted. Off to the side, Matt watched with amazed respect for them both.

 

The two Geodude who avoided fainting pulled themselves up with their strong arms and turned angrily to Olivia and Oshawott. One of them threw himself at the Water-type, attempting to hit him with a Mega Punch attack. Oshawott managed to dodge it only to step right into the path of the other Geodude’s Rock Throw.

 

Olivia’s eyes widened and her breathing grew short as she watched Oshawott fall onto his back. He wasn’t downed just yet, but the violent impact of the stone Geodude threw at him left his entire torso bruised.

 

“Oshawott…” she blankly whispered, her arm trembling by her side.

 

Hearing his trainer say his name drove Oshawott’s determination to earn her respect, and he pulled himself back up from the ground. Olivia drew a quiet gasp as she watched Oshawott growl at the two remaining Geodude, as if he was daring them to attack.

 

If it was a dare, it worked.  The Geodude that had lunged at Oshawott did so again, his arm pulled back in preparation for another Mega Punch attempt. Oshawott handily sidestepped out of the way, but this time, he fully expected the other Geodude’s Rock Throw and immediately ducked to avoid it.

 

Olivia felt an unexpected surge of confidence rising in herself when she saw Oshawott’s determination. It was enough to drive her to take charge and call out, “Hit them both with a spinning Water Gun!”

 

Buoyed by the respect he perceived Olivia to be giving him, Oshawott resolved to decisively finish the fight and threw himself into a spiral motion. Neither Geodude anticipated such a move, so both fell to the torrent of water that spun through the corridor.

 

“Impressive,” Nekou commented once the battle had concluded, pushing up her glasses as she spoke. “Even with such a distinct type advantage, taking four Geodude with just one Pokémon of your own is pretty good.”

 

“Thanks!” Olivia replied, smiling broadly.

 

“So what do you think? Will you try to give Oshawott more of a chance now?”

 

Seeing the look of confusion Nekou’s question had left Olivia with, Matt stepped up to them and intervened, even though all he could manage was ineffectually asking, “What?”

 

“I’ve been paying attention to Olivia’s battles since we left Violet City,” Nekou explained. “I noticed that she’s given every Pokémon she has but Oshawott a chance before now.” Olivia fidgeted, frowned and turned away as Nekou turned to her. “I’m not mad at you, Olivia, I just want to know what you’re thinking.”

 

“I… I just…” Caught at a loss for words, Olivia turned her back on Nekou, only to realize that doing so made her face Oshawott, which prompted her to turn partially away from them both. “I’m still torn on it. I still haven’t gotten comfortable with all of this.”

 

“That’s perfectly fine. Just don’t give up on Oshawott yet, okay? It hasn’t been that long.”

 

“I guess you’re right…” Olivia listlessly uttered. “So much has been going on… it’s not like how I thought this journey would be.”

 

“Let’s keep going,” Matt suggested. “If we focus on finding whoever stole the food from the Pokémon Center, maybe that’ll help.”

 

“So you’ve got a good idea for once,” Nekou deadpanned.

 

-:-

 

With Ghetsis standing rigidly outside their cage, Anthea and Concordia sang in haunting voices that echoed in the room. Their book of Tenganist myth had been discarded to the sheets making up the floor of their prison, left open on the page of music that dictated the melody the two were reciting.

 

“To think that it was this song all along,” Ghetsis sneered as they finished. “Team Rocket’s actions revealed the truth to us and we were too shortsighted to see it… Come!”

 

By banging his cane on the floor, Ghetsis summoned Pestilence and Chaos to the room. They weren’t alone when they teleported in, though; with them was a third man, whose torn lab coat, tousled brown hair and broken glasses spoke to how poor a state he was in.

 

“Confirm that that’s the song,” Polaris’s spokesman ordered the shambling wreck of a man.

 

“What are you going to do with it?” the man demanded, spitting a small amount of blood as he spoke. “You drape yourselves in being noble warriors for the people, but this is just…”

 

Stepping in front of the man, Ghetsis placed the end of his cane under his prisoner’s chin and used it to lift his head slightly. “I know everything about you and how to get what I want from you, so for the sake of your wife and son, Professor Elm, confirm that these two pieces of human trash are telling me the truth. Is this the song that unlocks the hidden power within the Bell Tower or not?”

 

His spirit sufficiently broken by Ghetsis’s menacing threats, Professor Elm submitted to him and weakly nodded. “It is, but you can’t use it without…”

 

“…the Clear Bell?” Ghetsis guessed, completing Elm’s sentence and terrifying the professor further. “You don’t need to worry about that. We’ve already taken care of it.”

 

Just then, Darkness teleported into the room to join the other Shadow Triad members. He kneeled before Ghetsis, then said, “Lord Ghetsis, sir, we must begin preparations for your speech tomorrow.”

 

“Very well. Elm, you and the two witches behind me will soon be vital parts of the beginning of my new and perfect era of humanity, so all of you just stand by and wait for that wonderful day to arrive.”

 

-:-

 

In a chamber beneath Giovanni’s Viridian City mansion, Jessie, James and Ariana stood in a line next to their car. They became even more stiffly official once he actually arrived, with Stacia following loyally behind him.

 

“Hail Giovanni!” all three of them recited as their boss stood before them.

 

“I trust everything is being handled according to the plans laid out in Operation Atlas?” Giovanni questioned.

 

“Giovanni, sir, everything is exactly as you ordered it,” Jessie answered.

 

“We have further information available for you once you get in the car, sir!” James added, eager to get in actions to earn Giovanni’s praise for himself.

 

“Very well, let us have a look.”

 

Ariana got back in the front of the car, while Jessie and James held the door so Giovanni could enter the back before they did. Once all four had entered the vehicle, James handed Giovanni the R-Pad.

 

Team Rocket’s script ‘R’ logo briefly appeared on the screen, then a video feed of Dr. Zager materialized.

 

“Hail Giovanni!” Zager declared the instant he could see his boss’s face.

 

“Give me updates, Zager,” Giovanni demanded. “Exactly where do we stand at this moment?”

 

“The Polaris cell in Goldenrod City has been infiltrated, according to our latest reports, but our mole hasn’t been successful yet in finding out who is in charge there. It’s been difficult to find out actual names with the higher-ups of Polaris using code names to hide their identities.”

 

“What about the Atlas Program? Has it been effective?”

 

“Remarkably so, Giovanni. By using our satellite, the field agent who helped create the program uploaded it into the International Police’s servers completely without notice. There’s now an undetectable piece of mutating code buried deep in their systems, erasing any and all evidence Team Rocket ever were recognized as criminals. They’re no longer an issue for us… now it’s truly us against Polaris.”

 

“Excellent work. I’ll make sure to let Rosalie and her team know how well they did when I see them in Goldenrod City.”

 

“Best of luck, Giovanni, sir.”

 

When Zager disappeared from the R-Pad’s screen, Giovanni passed the computer back to James. Before Ariana could do more than start the car, though, Stacia appeared at one of the windows, prompting Giovanni to roll it down.

 

“Please be careful out there, Mr. Giovanni,” she said, bowing to him and refusing to make eye contact at first. As soon as she realized that Jessie and James were watching, though, she turned formal again and pushed her glasses up. “I-I’ll look forward to hearing of your great success in defeating Polaris.”

 

Stacia sharply turned away, preventing those in the car from seeing any of the emotion she might have been showing, and left the chamber.

 

“You all done back there?” Ariana asked, craning her head to look back from the driver’s seat.

 

“It’s finished, Ariana,” Giovanni replied while rolling the window back up. “We must get going.”

 

“Alright, alright.” Narrowing her eyes and smirking, Ariana said, “You still make Zager say ‘Hail Giovanni?’”

 

With that, Ariana hit the gas and drove off into the network of underground tunnels she’d used to arrive beneath Viridian City.

 

-:-

 

Matt, Nekou and Olivia spent quite some time searching Union Cave for evidence of the culprit behind the Pokémon Center burglary, but aside from several Sandshrew exhibiting the same strange behavior as the Geodude that Olivia defeated with her Roselia, there was little evidence aside from more dropped Sitrus Berries.

 

All of that would soon change, as after finding several dropped Berries in close proximity to each other, they happened upon a bizarre scene – five black-and-blue-bodied mole Pokémon with large noses and claws, clearly affected by the same phenomenon as the Geodude and Sandshrew, were attacking a group of Zubat and Rattata. A large pile of Sitrus Berries was lying on the ground nearby next to an underground river.

 

“What the hell is going on here?” Matt exclaimed the moment they came across the fight. “Look at those Sitrus Berries over there… I bet these Pokémon are the ones who stole them!”

 

“No shit,” Nekou sarcastically muttered. “Seriously, though, the claws of those Drilbur match the claw marks on the shelves in the Pokémon Center.”

 

“Drilbur?”

 

Intrigued, Olivia took out her Pokédex and pointed it at the group of Pokémon.

 

_“Drilbur, the Mole Pokémon. Type is Ground. By spinning its body, it can dig straight through the ground at a speed of 30 mph.”_

 

Unfortunately for the three, while Olivia was listening to the Pokédex’s description, the five Drilbur had finished off their foes and turned their attention to the group themselves. One of the Drilbur, standing in front of the others, raised up his claw and shouted at them.

 

“I think that’s the leader,” Matt deduced. “I’ll take care of that one. You two handle the others!”

 

“Alright. Come on, Olivia, fight with me. It’ll be fun.”

 

“Huh? Oh… alright, then. Roselia, Oshawott, let’s play!”

 

“Marie, Dalian, you join those two!”

 

To oppose their share of the Drilbur horde, Olivia sent Oshawott back out along with her Roselia to join forces with Nekou’s Sneasel and Gothorita. The four Drilbur they had to face stared at the team with the same strange, empty looks the Geodude had.

 

“Olivia, I’ll take the lead,” Nekou quietly suggested. “You slip in and take them out when a window opens.”

 

“Alright, I got it!” Olivia cheerfully replied.

 

Nekou smiled at Olivia, then quickly turned back to the Drilbur. “Marie, use Ice Beam!” she commanded before the Ground-type Pokémon could attack.

 

The two Drilbur closest to the direct path of the freezing beam Marie shot from her mouth jumped back to avoid being struck by it, bringing them very close to their two companions.

 

“Just what I wanted,” Nekou whispered to herself with a smirk. “Dalian, mow them down! Energy Ball!”

 

With her targets clustered together, Dalian had a much easier time aiming at them. She brought her arms together and formed a green sphere of energy, which she then threw at them. Two of the Drilbur tried to stop the oncoming Energy Ball by kicking up dirt with their claws, but their Mud-Slap shields failed to do anything. Dalian’s attack struck the four Ground-types with explosive force, scattering them in the dirt.

 

“Do your thing, Olivia, it’s all yours!”

 

Nekou stepped back and recalled Marie and Dalian, allowing Olivia the opening she had been promised.

 

Without hesitation, she eagerly seized it, calling out, “Roselia, you use Energy Ball, too! Oshawott, follow it up with Water Gun!”

 

The Drilbur were only beginning to regroup when another Energy Ball descended upon them, this one courtesy of Olivia’s Roselia. Only one of the four took a direct hit, but he was thrown into another of his companions and knocked her down as well. The whole group was then drenched when Oshawott let an even more powerful Water Gun loose on them.

 

Three of the Drilbur fainted and collapsed, but the final one turned violently on Olivia. He stood on his toes, extended his arms to his sides, and flung himself at Oshawott while spinning in a vicious spiral.

 

In a bid to stop the Drilbur’s Rapid Spin, Oshawott reached for where his shell would have been, forgetting that it still hadn’t grown back. He froze once he realized it wasn’t there, leaving himself completely open to being run down.

 

“Oh… there’s no point in forcing this.” Taking Oshawott’s Poké Ball in her hand, Olivia quietly directed, “Roselia, cover for Oshawott and finish up. Oshawott, retu…”

 

Hearing his trainer want to call him back caused something in Oshawott’s mind to snap. He pulled his battered, bruised body off the ground, and though he was trembling all over, he leveraged all the injuries he’d suffered against both the Geodude and the Drilbur as a way to call upon his full power. A bright blue aura surrounded him, and he cried out to the ceiling of the cavern.

 

“…Oshawott?” Olivia said, taken aback by this sudden turn.

 

“That’s Oshawott’s ability, Torrent!” Nekou exclaimed. “Water-type moves are stronger now that Oshawott’s near fainting, so go for it!”

 

“Is that so? Well then… Oshawott, show that Drilbur what you’re made of! Water Gun!”

 

Oshawott locked his fiery gaze on the last standing Drilbur. His eyes were so intense that if the Drilbur’s mind wasn’t warped by the Meteonite’s energy, the Ground-type would have been intimidated into fleeing. As he was unable to think clearly, though, he lunged at Oshawott while using Rapid Spin again – only to be swiftly and decisively cut down by the gigantic flood of water Oshawott unleashed.

 

“O-oh, wow…” Olivia was barely able to speak with how stunned she was by Oshawott’s display of power. “That was pretty awesome, Oshawott.”

 

Though he was exhausted from fighting so much, Oshawott grinned broadly and cheered for himself, having gained praise from Olivia.

 

“Just awesome?” Nekou chimed in. “No, that was pretty badass. You keep kicking ass like that and Avril won’t know what hit her.”

 

“Oh, you better believe it. Next time I see her I’m bringing it right to her.”

 

Meanwhile, while Nekou and Olivia had been busy dealing with the Drilbur horde, Matt was engaged in a standoff with the fifth Drilbur. In keeping with his promise to Nikolai to use her more often, Matt had gone with Charlotte for the battle. There hadn’t been much in the way of actual fighting, however, just Matt’s Eelektrik and the wild Drilbur constantly jousting for position.

 

“Electric-type moves aren’t going to work, so that makes Charge Beam and Thunder Wave useless… I guess in that case I’ll just have to try Headbutt!”

 

Charlotte lunged headfirst through the air toward the Drilbur, who retaliated by curling up his body into the shape of a drill and spiraling right into her. Both got thrown back when they impacted each other, but Charlotte took a much more severe blow, being tossed several feet across the cave.

 

Taken aback by this turn, Matt stared wide-eyed while Charlotte lifted herself from the ground. “That was Drill Run, I could tell… but that’s a Ground-type move, and Eelektrik has Levitate…”

 

“That Drilbur’s ability must be Mold Breaker!” Nekou interjected, while watching the battle with Olivia. “Some Pokémon have rare, unusual abilities. That must be one of them.”

 

“I see… thanks for the advice. Knowing that, Charlotte, go ahead and use Headbutt again!”

 

The scenario repeated itself; within moments, Charlotte and Drilbur were heading straight for another clash of Headbutt and Drill Run. This time, however, Matt had a plan.

 

“Acid Spray, quickly!”

 

As part of using Drill Run, Drilbur had to cover his face, and thus couldn’t see when Charlotte twisted out of the way. He halted his attack and unfolded as soon as he realized he hadn’t hit his target, then turned around to face Charlotte – only to get a face full of the orange acid she choked up. Now blinded by the substance having splashed in his eyes, Drilbur was left completely helpless.

 

“And now, Charlotte, use Headbutt one more time!”

 

Charlotte lifted herself through the air and dive-bombed the Drilbur, slamming him into the ground. With the Pokémon effectively stopped, Matt reached into his bag, pulled out a Poké Ball, and threw it.

 

Olivia, Oshawott, Roselia, Nekou and Charlotte all watched closely with Matt as his Poké Ball wobbled in the pit left by the Drilbur. Before long, it stopped, indicating a successful capture.

 

“Well, we can consider this case closed,” Matt said. He picked up the Poké Ball that now contained his new Drilbur and put it in his bag. “There must be another of those Meteonite pieces somewhere nearby. Those Drilbur were acting just like the Pawniard and Bisharp did under its influence.”

 

“That’s probably a safe bet,” Nekou agreed. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Polaris has something to do with this…”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, Nekou, what are you talking about?” the equally-confused Olivia asked.

 

Before Nekou could answer, the whole cave started to shake, instantly cutting off the conversation.

 

“The fuck is that?”

 

“An earthquake?” Matt stammered. “But why here?”

 

“You guys, I think we better get out of here…”

 

“That’s a good idea, Olivia,” Matt said, sending Charlotte back to her Poké Ball. “Come on!”

 

They turned and started to leave, but before they could make it far, the nearby wall exploded in a cloud of dust and rock, creating a cloud that filled the area and a blast that threw all three of them down.

 

“What… what was that?! Olivia!” The dust cloud obscured all sight, so Matt was left to frantically feel around blindly for his charge’s hand. He came across an arm fairly quickly and grabbed it.

 

“It’s me, ass!” Nekou shrilled, pulling her arm out of Matt’s grip. “Don’t worry about me, find Olivia…”

 

A great roar shook the passage, both blasting away the dust and causing Olivia to scream. She was collapsed with her back against one of the cave’s walls, with an Onix towering over her. Just like the Geodude and Drilbur, the Onix’s eyes were empty and soulless.

 

“Oh, fuck, not again.”

 

“I’ll make a diversion of myself,” Matt volunteered, just about instantly. “As soon as I draw its attention, get Olivia out of there.” Without giving Nekou a chance to say anything about the plan, Matt pulled a Poké Ball from his bag and threw it, releasing a Hitmonchan that immediately braced for battle. “Rocky, use Drain Punch!”

 

The boxing glove around Rocky’s right fist took became enveloped in spiraling green energy, and using his thin but surprisingly powerful legs, he dashed toward the Onix, jumped onto her near her tail, then used the rocks comprising her body to ascend and strike her in the head. His body was briefly covered with the same green glow as he leapt back afterward.

 

Matt’s plan worked. The Onix angrily turned her gaze to him and growled in a voice deep enough to nearly cause another earthquake.

 

Though his body was getting tense against his will, Matt continued with his intentions. “Was that painful for you?” he taunted while gesturing for Nekou to go to Olivia. “You’re a big Pokémon! Was one little punch all it took?”

 

In the midst of the rumbling coming from the Onix, Nekou snuck around the edge of the passage and reached Olivia. “It’s alright, Olivia, we’re going to fuck that Onix up. Don’t be afraid of it.”

 

Despite her attempts to be quiet, however, the Onix somehow heard Nekou’s threat and shifted her glance back in Olivia’s direction. Once the Rock-and-Ground-type Pokémon saw Nekou and Olivia together, she roared in rage, whipped back around and raised her tail.

 

“It’s my fault, get away!”

 

Time seemed to slow down for both Matt and Olivia the moment Nekou pushed the latter away from her. Both of them could only watch in gut-wrenching horror as the Onix smashed her tail into Nekou right before their eyes, seemingly crushing her into the wall.

 

“Nekou!!” Olivia tearfully cried out. “No, not now… I needed you…”

 

“Not again… not again…” Matt kept repeating to himself, images of Eleanor’s death playing in his head like a wretched recording. He began convulsing and could barely stand, let alone coherently speak. “Not again… no, no, no, no…” Suddenly, he sharply lashed his head upward and trained a nearly insane glare on the Onix. “If that’s how it’s going to be… Rocky, show no mercy! Drain Punch! Do it repeatedly!”

 

Seeing his Hitmonchan relentlessly striking the Onix gave Matt no catharsis; all he could think of was how he had once again been unable to stop an entirely preventable death. This time was more severe to him, though, a fact he realized when he looked down to see Olivia’s face covered in tears. He felt as if he had let two people die.

 

Neither Matt nor Olivia could have ever expected what happened next.

 

Nekou broke from the wall she had been crushed into, having somehow survived the blow, and fell forward onto her hands and knees before standing up hunched. Her arms hung loosely at her sides, and when she turned upward to face the Onix directly, her eyes were glowing yellow once again.

 

“N-Nekou?” Olivia stuttered, blinking away her tears.

 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Matt nervously said.

 

Snarling, Nekou lunged directly at the Onix, exhibiting nearly inhuman reflexes while doing so. She punched the Pokémon with a closed fist and actually hit with enough force to make her roar in pain. A sharp cracking at the moment of impact revealed the broken hand that came as Nekou’s price for such strength, but barely seemed to affect her.

 

“We have to help her, Olivia, so use Roselia. Rocky, Ice Punch!”

 

Quickly recalling Oshawott, Olivia took Matt’s advice and shouted, “Energy Ball!”

 

Rocky was in position to simply turn around and strike Onix’s back with her fist enveloped in freezing cold air. Roselia, meanwhile, struck the Rock-and-Ground-type’s head with her Energy Ball, causing the Onix to convulse violently.

 

Suddenly, Nekou – having already regained use of her right hand – screamed out and shoved against the Onix’s body with incredible force, causing the Pokémon to fall backwards and ultimately land with her huge head in the river. Between all of the damage from the Pokémon, the blows inflicted by Nekou and the water in the river, Onix could take no more and fainted.

 

“She already healed that hand?!” Matt gasped. “We beat Onix, but that doesn’t make any sense…”

 

It wasn’t over, however. The bizarre, animalistic rage consuming Nekou didn’t abate simply because Onix was defeated, and she lashed around, fixing her insane gaze on Matt. Unhindered by her hair, which had become long enough to nearly touch the ground, she rushed him, baring her teeth. He had barely enough time to reflexively hold up one arm to defend himself, and it being made of metal was the only reason she didn’t end up biting through it.

 

“The fuck has gotten into you, Nekou?! Snap out of it!” he pleaded.

 

She responded by grabbing his shoulders and flinging him into the unconscious Onix, which shook him up more than it actually injured him. He stumbled up only to find her rushing him again, which he avoided by jumping out of her path in a panic.

 

Her relentless assault didn’t let up, and in mere seconds she was on top of him again, attempting to slash at him with her hands. He barely managed to weave away, and he was forced to kick her away with his artificial left leg to open up some space between them.

 

“Stop it! Please, no more! I don’t want this anymore!”

 

Nekou was just in the course of recovering so she could attack Matt again when Olivia interrupted with her fearful screams. Olivia’s voice somehow got through to her, and even though she remained hunched and snarling, she stopped her vicious attacks and seemed to be thinking.

 

“Be using Brick Break, Toxicroak!”

 

Out of nowhere, a Toxicroak appeared and slammed his fist down on Nekou’s head, instantly knocking her out. She fell sideways into the flowing water of the underground river.

 

-:-

 

“There’s a phone call from the holy land,” Alesia said to the prophet, the two of them standing amongst a number of other Tenganists still preparing their Pokémon.

 

“From the holy land? That can’t be good. Give me the phone, please.” After taking the phone from her subordinate, the prophet said into it, “What happened?”

 

 _“An uninvited guest turned up here,”_ a male voice responded. _“She just appeared in the temple, and seemed very confused. She thought she was in the Ruins of Alph.”_

 

“I don’t have time to figure out what’s going on. We’re busy preparing for our operation. If you don’t think she’s a threat, tell her not to tell anyone what she saw and have the old man send her back to the Ruins of Alph with his Abra.”

 

-:-

 

Nekou abruptly awoke several hours later, only to find herself staring at the ceiling of a darkened hospital room in a Pokémon Center. She was disoriented by her surroundings, and was left breathing heavily.

 

“I see you’re finally awake,” Matt said.

 

Startled, she sat up in her bed, discovering that he was the only one with her in the room, sitting next to the bed with his elbows rested on his knees. He wasn’t wearing his coat or carrying his bag.

 

“G-get the fuck out of my room. Stop watching me sleep.”

 

“You weren’t sleeping. Please don’t push me away right now.”

 

“What happened…?” The magnitude of the situation began to slowly dawn on her, and her voice became shallow and quiet. “Oh no, it… it happened, didn’t it?”

 

“If by ‘it’ you mean you surviving what should have been a fatal injury and then turning into an animalistic killing machine… yeah, that happened. That detective, Looker, he turned up and knocked you out with his Toxicroak.” Matt sighed and closed his eyes. His head felt heavy. “You fell into a river in Union Cave and got washed out into Route 33. Olivia and I found you washed up in the rain and I kept you warm in my coat as we brought you here… to Azalea Town’s Pokémon Center. But none of that’s important. We’re all worried about you.”

 

Nekou didn’t say anything right away, instead choosing to bite her lip and search for something to say. She wouldn’t make eye contact with Matt either, which was what him realize just how wrong things were.

 

“Will these help you feel better?”

 

Reaching into his bag, Matt produced Nekou’s music player and a can of beer, both of which he handed over to her right away. She immediately opened the beer can to sip at it, but still didn’t look at Matt.

 

Suddenly getting a flash of intuition, Matt asked, “Are you worried about how Olivia took it?” Nekou nodded in response, prompting Matt to say, “Olivia was freaked out by what happened, I’ll be honest. But she’s worried too… I almost think she’s more worried about you than how she felt about it herself. She’s only not here because she was so tired she needed to sleep.”

 

“You mean I didn’t attack her?”

 

“No. In fact, when Olivia called out to you, it actually got through to you somehow.”

 

This finally got her to look back at him, her eyes reflecting true fear – something incredibly rare for her. “I…I’m sick, I know… But I don’t know why that happens… and I’m embarrassed you all saw it… it’s my curse, nobody else should have to witness it…”

 

“I could sit here and question how someone turns into a beast like that,” he said, shaking his head, “but I’m not going to. If there’s anything I can tell it’s that objectifying you like some sort of test subject is wrong. But let me ask you, why do you not want anyone to see it? You said you considered it embarrassing, right?”

 

When Nekou nodded, Matt stood and began working to undo the buttons on his shirt.

 

“Get the fuck away from me!” Nekou shouted, pulling back on the bed. “You come at me and I’ll fuck you up!”

 

“I’m not doing anything of the sort,” Matt responded. “You said you were embarrassed because I saw what happened in the cave. I’m going to make up for that by showing you a shame I carry.”

 

“What are you talking about? Why?”

 

“Because I’m not going to judge you for what you suffer from, and I trust you to know something about me. It’s only fair that way.”

 

“Wait, you’re not afraid of me knowing whatever secret you’re about to tell me?” Nekou questioned. She was incredulous that Matt was actually putting so much trust in her. “I wouldn’t do the same.”

 

“I know you wouldn’t… but I also think there’s more to you than that. The feeling I get is that you would keep your secrets to protect yourself.”

 

With that, Matt undid the final button and pulled the left side of his shirt open, revealing that the left side of his torso was covered in burn scars.

 

Much to his surprise, though, Nekou didn’t seem fazed in the least by what she saw. “What did that to you?”

 

“The same thing that made me lose my left eye burned up a whole lot more,” he explained in a sad voice. “When I was given this body to rehabilitate myself from those injuries, I got my face repaired… but I didn’t want to do the same for these. They remind me of my failures and of what I must be driven to find.”

 

Nekou did not respond. She only looked away and tried to ponder all the things running through her head at once. Primary among them was her utter shock at her fear of being judged over her strange abilities not being validated. Acceptance was a rare thing for her when it came to that, and she had to fight with herself over whether or not to tell Matt any more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 10**

 

 


	11. Hard Reset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia attempts to start her failing badge quest again by facing Azalea Town’s Gym Leader, but finds that it may still be out of her reach. Meanwhile, Polaris moves several steps closer to their ominous goals.

There’s a lot to get to here. The main warning this time is for panic attacks, self-harm and suicide threats.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 11:** Hard Reset

 

-:-

 

The morning after the chaos in Union Cave, the sun bathed Azalea Town in its rays, with none of the previous cloud cover impeding it.

 

The Pokémon Center standing at the center of the small town provided a stark contrast to its surroundings. It was a modern building among a village of wooden structures, a place far from the hand of progress that had worked so harshly on Cherrygrove City. Only the Poké Mart down the road kept it from being completely out of place.

 

Inside, Olivia was sitting at a table in the common area with Looker and Silver. She was sipping tea and eating a biscuit, while Looker had a cup of coffee and Silver simply sat scowling, a glass of orange juice in front of him.

 

“Mr. Looker,” Olivia questioned, keeping her eyes on the teacup in front of herself to avoid having to meet Looker and Silver’s gazes. “Why were you in Union Cave yesterday?”

 

“Being there was a strange energy pulse in that area. Identical to it was the energy pulse that struck Route 29, so suspicious something there is, I suspect.”

 

Olivia looked up slightly, though not far enough to meet either pair of eyes opposite her. “So Matt was right…”

 

“Hm? What are you precisely speaking words about?”  


“He came to the same conclusion,” the sullen young woman explained. “I believe it, too. The Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix we saw all were acting strangely, just like the Pawniard and Bisharp on Route 29.”

 

“Did you say Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix?” Silver interrupted. When Olivia nodded, he pushed for further confirmation by asking, “And no other Pokémon, you’re sure?”

 

“Just those four species, I’m sure.”

 

Silver quickly turned to Looker. “Geodude, Sandshrew, Drilbur and Onix are all at least part Ground-types. If no other Pokémon were affected, those energy pulses might only affect a single type of Pokémon at a time.”  


“You are suggesting the notion which I am thinking?”

 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of Team Rocket’s experiments. She’s here, so there must be other Team Rocket members in Azalea Town, and I intend to take them all out.”

 

“Duly noted,” Looker said, crossing his arms. “Olivia, what I am wondering to be asking you questions about is what I saw with my eyes when I first was encountering your friends yesterday. What are you possessing the ability to be telling me about that?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it…” Olivia answered, looking back down.

 

“Please, I must be insisting on it. My investigation into these blasts of strange energy and what the kind of effect they are acting to have on the Pokémon of the local area would gain great aid from learning more true facts about what happened. Why and how can there be happening to be a person who acts sometimes with the natural savagery of a Pokémon that is wild?”

 

“You should just arrest that woman,” Silver mumbled under his breath.

 

“Be letting Olivia answer the question that is mine.”

 

“I don’t know anything, even if I wanted to know!” Olivia finally cracked under the pressure of Looker’s questions, slamming her fists on her lap. “Actually I’m not sure I want to know. I want to forget yesterday ever happened.”

 

Looker clasped his hands together and leaned forward, resting his head on them. “Would speaking of the things that make you feel good be a help?”

 

“I think so.” Olivia took a deep breath, calming both her muscles and her speech. “Some good things happened yesterday. I got to train a lot with the Oshawott I got from Professor Juniper. Nekou was there for me, too. She wouldn’t stop encouraging me to do better. And Matt… well, he was there, I guess. I’m going to prove to him that I can be treated like an adult, like how he acts toward my dad.”

 

“At least your father was a good man, unlike mine,” Silver spitefully interjected.

 

“Be silent with your tongue, Silver, or I will be sending you away from here until interrogation has reached the point called its conclusion.” Softening, Looker continued by asking, “Olivia, please be trying to tell me about what took place in events at a point in time most immediately before Nekou’s descent into a state of being feral.”

 

“Remember those Drilbur I mentioned? We had just finished fighting them. Nekou helped me fight off four of them, while Matt was battling the fifth. We finished battling them when suddenly this Onix that was affected by the Meteonite broke in and smashed Nekou against the wall. She started acting strange after that.”

 

“So it is acceptable to be concluding that the energy pulse itself was not acting as the cause for her violent actions. That is good, because it would happen to be bad if humans were also in a position to be affected by those blasts.” Skipping a beat, Looker suddenly realized what Olivia had said and gasped. “Did you… did you speak from your lips the word Meteonite?”

 

“Yeah, what about it?”

 

“I will have to be making sure to tell myself to note that for future investigations.” What Looker didn’t tell her was just how major it was to know that the Meteonite was involved for him.

 

He wouldn’t get a chance to, either, as Matt and Nekou came up to the table. Almost immediately, Olivia shrank back into her seat, her body shaking.

 

Mindful to take great care in choosing his words, Matt gently asked, “Olivia, what’s wrong?”

 

“You know what’s wrong,” she mumbled in response, keeping her eyes locked in the opposite direction of the two people who distressed her.

 

Nekou turned to Matt, the two of them having anticipated Olivia’s mood.

 

~:~

 

The previous night, after telling Nekou what had happened in Union Cave and doing his best to soothe her fears about it, Matt had gone back to his own room. In the light of a floor lamp next to the room’s desk, he was sitting at a painting easel, putting colors randomly on the canvas to create an incoherent display.

 

He was so startled by his door opening that he nearly dropped the palette in his left hand. Spinning around, he saw Nekou staggering in with a pillow in one hand and a beer can in the other.

 

“What are you doing in here?” he sharply questioned, though he quickly realized this was inappropriate and softened his tone. “Do you want to talk some more?”

 

Nekou did not answer until after she threw herself down on the bed. “I don’t want to be alone. I get nightmares.” When Matt put the palette down and stood from the easel, Nekou shouted at him, “I’m not lying!”

 

“No, I believe you…” Sitting down on the bed but facing away from her, Matt continued, “You must have some pretty bad nightmares, judging from how much you drink at night to escape them.”

 

“How did you know that?”

 

“I’ve had to do it sometimes myself. My nightmares are memories of the things I’ve seen, but I think there are some things I dream of that are memories of events I otherwise can’t remember anymore… if I might ask, what about yours?”

 

Nekou put her beer can on the nightstand next to the bed, then rolled over onto her back. “They never make sense. I see and hear images and sounds that… they just don’t make any sense. It’s like a fucking acid trip. Other times I dream of science, history, you know, textbook shit. That just goes on and on until my head explodes from it all. The one thing that’s always consistent is that I hear this woman screaming… and it just never ends.”

 

“Do you think that they’re memories of something?”

 

“I don’t know, and that’s what makes them terrifying.” Nekou pushed her bangs from her forehead, then closed her eyes. “Olivia’s going to be left with the same thing now. How the fuck can she understand what happened if I don’t even understand it?”

 

“I’m going to be blunt here,” Matt said, staring at the wall. “Preventing her from being haunted by what happened in Union Cave is up to you. She won’t want to hear it from me, and hearing it from you would give it some weight.”

 

“You know, you’re right.”

 

~:~

 

Matt nodded to her, and Nekou turned to Olivia, fixing a determined, eye-level gaze on the young woman.

 

“Olivia, you don’t have to be afraid of me because of what happened yesterday, I promise. I’m never going to do anything to hurt you.”

 

“That wasn’t you,” Olivia whimpered, still pulled back into her seat.

 

“Maybe you’re right. But this definitely is.”

 

Nekou sat down next to Olivia and embraced her, catching her off guard. She flinched violently at first, but as it sank in that Nekou was sincere about not hurting her, she calmed.

 

“I promise I’ll learn to control that side of me. I don’t want to scare you or make you feel threatened.”

 

“Please do,” Olivia responded, finally putting her arms around her friend.

 

Matt had stood by silently during the entire exchange, not wanting to interrupt the sincere reconciliation between the two. Once he sensed it was finished, though, he changed the subject with a question.

 

“Looker, why are you even here? Last I had heard of you, you were off in Kanto investigating the Kiss of Death case.”

 

Looker sighed and crossed his arms. “Taken off the case, I happened to be. It has not seen wide reporting, but there occurred to be two more murders.”

 

“Why would they take you off the case just because the killer struck again?” Matt wondered, not noticing Nekou briefly shoot a glare at him.

 

“You see, the two victims, they were having something in common that they shared. They were both employees working in the employ of the Angel Corporation. Suspicious I became when I noted this about both men, because Melvin Clemens, the murder before them, he was involved as an employee of the Angel Corporation as well. But that wasn’t all. I made my decision to go back and look once more at the Clemens case once I came upon having this realization and I struck a discovery – he was employed at one of the highest salaried positions within the corporation’s umbrella, but in complete spite of the paycheck he received, Melvin Clemens was living his life in the state of bare bones poverty. Suddenly, and lacking in any sort of warning to me, I was removed from the investigation, halting my efforts to put my eyes on his financial records.”

 

“Financial records? I thought this was a murder case alone.”

 

“Three of the men whose lives met their end are connected through sharing the same place of employment, and one of them lived in a lifestyle that completely has contradictions against the kind of money he should have owned in his possession. I have a suspicion that the victims have a deeper link than just how their deaths came to pass in history.”

 

 Matt held his chin and pondered Looker’s information, which he had to admit sounded fairly suspicious. He intended to question the detective further about the case, but he never got to put words to any of his thoughts before Olivia interrupted.

 

“What’s going on over there?”

 

She pointed across the Pokémon Center lobby to the fairly large group of people clustered around the television mounted on the wall. A newscast was playing on it, but from the distance they were away from it, none of the group could hear what was being said.

 

“Let’s go check that out,” Nekou immediately said.

 

After  Nekou slid out from the table, Olivia followed, and both Looker and Silver got up after them. Matt brought up the rear, but maintained a close distance to them. Once they were all around the television, they barely had a moment to hear what was going on before the newscaster disappeared and was replaced by Ghetsis.

 

 _“Another Polaris broadcast…”_ A violent scowl appeared on Nekou’s face, one that she only faintly tried to pull back. _“They’re stepping up their game. We’re running out of time…”_

 

 _“Greetings, people of the Tohjo Continent,”_ Ghetsis spoke, his voice ringing throughout the lobby. He held a clear confidence for the speech, with a sincere smile and an intense gaze. _“I come before you today with a simple message. A plea, if you will. Every day, more people, many of them your own sons and daughters, fall by the wayside in the manipulative, elitist system known as the Pokémon League. Because of the heavy hand of oppression looming over this nation, generations of ordinary citizens have been fooled into believing in a lie crafted by the rich and powerful , the notion of anyone from any background being able to attain the goal called ‘Pokémon Master.’ How can the poor and those of modest means raise themselves up when the very mechanics supposedly meant to help them actually only advance the already wealthy and elite with handouts and breaks that put them on a higher level practically from birth?!”_ Ghetsis’s eye was narrowing, becoming more and more intense with every sentence of his speech, and just off camera, he tightly clenched his fist. _“So I ask you, citizens of Johto and Kanto… no, it is not only I, all of Polaris asks you… step up, add your names to the ranks of those brave individuals who will fight in the name of justice. Soon, your chance will come to join our crusade. You must ask yourselves, in a world where seventy percent of new trainers never reach the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of those don’t collect more than seven Badges, is that fair? No, it is not! You must rise and speak to the powers that would keep you down with this lie, telling them that you will stand for the injustice no longer! We, Polaris, are your voice, and with every one of you who joins the battle for equal opportunity, that voice grows stronger. Goldenrod City will be the place. My minister of public relations will meet with you, the people, in a few days there to plot the course forward. Please keep your eyes on our public schedules for more details. Polaris will bring freedom and justice to the people when we usher in a new era of mankind, and it will be soon! Do not let yourselves be on the wrong side of history! Thank you for your time today, and we will be seeing you again very, very soon.”_

 

When Ghetsis disappeared from the screen, the crowd surrounding it instantly descended into a flurry of discussion.

 

“What do you think they mean? A new era of mankind?”

 

“You know, he’s right, though. I just saw a report on TV the other night that backs him up…”

 

“I just heard that… what was it, like seventy percent of new trainers never even make it to the Pokémon League, and ninety percent of them don’t collect more than seven Badges? Is that what he said?”

 

“There have been more and more trainers washing up at Pokémon Centers in cities all over the place unable to continue going. Between the cost of healing their Pokémon, rooms and supplies, it’s no wonder so many don’t make it…”

 

Matt didn’t realize right away that Nekou had pulled Olivia away from the storm of speculation, with everyone else but himself following in kind.

 

“Is it really true, though?” he could hear Olivia asking Nekou as he rejoined them.

 

“There are a lot of trainers who don’t make the big time,” Nekou explained, “but you don’t need to worry about that because you’re not going to be a statistic.”

 

Turning from their exchange, Matt noticed Looker standing with Silver, grimacing while crossing his arms.

 

“What’s going on?” he questioned, walking up to the pair.

 

“Goldenrod City is apparently going to take on the intensity of a field of battle in the forthcoming future… and the mission I am currently in possession of is taking place there. Escorting them out will be made harder and more difficult if Polaris causes a disturbance event in the population of the locality.”

 

“Escort them? Who?”

 

“Two prisoners jailed by the International Police whose cycles reached their opportunity for parole and return to life being ordinary. They both received negative judgments of their readiness and must be escorted back to the adjacent nation of Kanto for return to prison. One is the former tycoon of business Grings Kodai, and the other… the other’s your friend from the past, Jacob Alexison.”

 

Matt nearly blacked out the moment Looker said the name Jacob Alexison, as a flood of memories came rushing back to him – none of them positive. He held his chest as if in pain.

 

“Where he shot me still hurts every time I think about him…” he growled, “…but I’m going to need to ask you a favor. Let me talk to him before you ship him off.”

 

“Yeah, I want to talk to Jacob Alexison too,” Nekou butted in, having wandered over with Olivia.

 

A silence met them as Looker stared back, considering their requests. “Fine, I shall consent to giving my consent for such a plan,” he finally responded, “but you will be needing to make haste to Goldenrod City. I will not find myself waiting for you.”

 

“That works out,” Olivia said. “All we need to do here is visit Azalea Gym…”

 

“Is that how you will continue to grow closer together?”

 

Surprised by the voice behind them, Matt, Olivia and Nekou all turned around sharply, only to discover Nikolai standing behind them with his hands in the pockets of his coat. He looked as listless as ever, and his sudden appearance provoked both Nekou and Looker to grimace.

 

“Who is this guy?”

 

Ignoring Silver’s rudely-put question, Nikolai walked right up to Olivia and lowered himself to see eye-to-eye with her. “I can feel it, even through the Poké Ball… your Oshawott is bursting with an incredible amount of energy,” he quietly but firmly said. “It’s got far more energy than before. You did the right thing and trusted it to indulge in its natural instincts.”

 

“Th-thank you, I guess?” Olivia shifted her weight from one leg to the other and looked away from Nikolai’s intense gaze.

 

“Wait, what even happened to you?” Matt questioned in confusion. “You were sick from the poison that ninja hit you with, and we took you to Violet City’s Pokémon Center for help, but then you disappeared.”

 

“I recovered and departed…” As he spoke, Nikolai rose back to his full height and faced Matt. “Your Eelektrik… it is happier than it was before, too. You took my advice and used it…”

 

“You’re right, I did. Your advice when we met before was sound.”

 

“Is he talking to Pokémon that are still in their Poké Balls?!”

 

“He is accomplishing just that,” Looker replied to Silver, though with his eyes closed. “That is a power that he is in possession of.” Turning away, the detective thought to himself, _“This boy is here… and so is Ghetsis. There is a connection between Team Plasma and Polaris, but I lack enough evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”_

 

“Olivia, are you ready to go to the Gym?” Nekou put in, redirecting the conversation back to its initial topic.

 

“Yeah, I think I am. And from there… Goldenrod City, where we all want to go.”

 

-:-

 

Colress’s gloved fingers flew busily over the electronic keyboard of his computer console, manipulating the data he was working with. On the main display screen, a double helix with some segments missing and relevant information regarding the strain of Pokérus he was engineering was shown.

 

“Now, time for another stability hypothesis experiment.” A window containing an image of the Meteonite and its associated data appeared alongside the main window, prompting Colress to smile and say, “Very well. Apply the calculated dose of radiation.”

 

Once Colress gave this order to the system and pressed the key to confirm it, three red arrows appeared between the two windows, indicating the flow of data from the Meteonite to the DNA structuring program. Within seconds, the helix began to glow, and the missing segments filled themselves in.

 

Colress’s eyes went wide. Barely able to contain his excitement, he gestured widely with his arms and shouted, “This is it! I knew I could do what nobody else could! The mystery behind the true strength of Pokémon… and I, Doctor Colress Antimony, am the one to bring it to light! My genius made it possible!”

 

All the windows shrank away, and Colress pulled a rectangular data drive from the console before turning and running out of his lab.

 

-:-

 

The three members of the Shadow Triad stood before Ghetsis, each of them holding one of his prisoners.

 

“We have to go out to Ecruteak City to prepare for our mission,” explained the tyrant, firmly gripping the handle of his cane. “Bring Concordia, Anthea and Professor Elm to the transport and guard them with your lives. If anything happens to any of them, your lives literally will be the price. Do not fail me.”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three of the Shadow Triad replied.

 

Ghetsis watched as the trio of ninjas dragged their captives off. Concordia and Anthea didn’t resist at all, instead merely hanging like ragdolls in the grip of Darkness and Pestilence. Professor Elm, however, tried in vain to fight his way loose, only for Chaos to sharply knee him in the back. Once Elm was doubled over in pain from the blow, Chaos followed his brothers.

 

Satisfied that his followers had the situation under control, Ghetsis lifted his cane near his mouth and twisted the knob atop it to activate its communicator. “Zinzolin.”

 

 _“Lord Ghetsis!”_ the old man responded from the other end, his voice giving away the surprise he felt. _“I was not expecting to be contacted so soon.”_

 

“You’ve been. My plans are moving ahead to the next stage, and I am about to leave Polaris’s temple for Ecruteak City to begin putting the final touches in place. How prepared are you for the Goldenrod phase?”

 

_“You’ll be quite pleased to hear that we are fully prepared. All of our resources are in place. All that we need is for Getriebe and Jeunes to get the go-ahead from Finansielle to set the Meteonite extraction plan into motion. Once that starts, it cannot be stopped. As for my role, I am more than ready to take our message to the people in the most powerful way yet.”_

 

“You’re right, I am pleased. I’m taking the Shadow Triad along with me to Ecruteak City, so don’t let anyone foul up your work like you did in Violet City. Getriebe and Jeunes are relying on you…” Ghetsis stopped speaking briefly and smirked. “…and I’m relying on you even more. It’s absolutely vital that the people are hungry for what I will give them in Ecruteak City.”

 

-:-

 

To the west of Azalea Town lay Ilex Forest, an wooded expanse grown so thick with tall trees that within its boundaries, little sunlight reached the ground. Many local residents considered the forest’s environment that of a permanent night, and as Séduire lurked in the darkness, sitting in the branches of one of the trees, she found herself in full agreement.

 

The amount of sunlight in the forest wasn’t of much concern overall to her, though. On her lap she had a small hand cannon. It was generating a holographic computer display for her, which she was casually flicking through with her fingers while talking to herself in an almost sing-song manner.

 

“Oh, it’s just going to be so much fun when you get here, Matt. I’m going to have so much fun… breaking you by making you see that bitch and the girl go down… then I’ll take you back home with me and you’ll never leave me alone ever again…”

 

The windows were displaying the different species of Pokémon currently in the area along with numerical readouts and energy charts associated with each one. One of the species Séduire scrolled past caught her by surprise, prompting her to go back.

 

“Well then, look at you! I didn’t expect to see you around here… looks like I’m not the only one Matt will be having a reunion with, and for you to meet him, I don’t even have to work for it! You ought to cut him down to give me what I want without any prompting…”

 

-:-

 

Azalea Gym, located on the western side of the town, was a battling facility within a large greenhouse dome. As Matt, Olivia and Nekou entered, with Nikolai, Looker and Silver in tow, they found the interior to be a lush indoor forest, with many of the trees linked by threads of silk.

 

“This place didn’t earn its reputation as a Bug-type Gym for nothing,” Nekou remarked.

 

At the center of the structure, nestled snugly in the embrace of the surrounding foliage, was the battlefield. It was simply a field drawn in white paint on the grass, but it was still more than enough.

 

Sitting in the stands just to the side of the battlefield was a teenage boy dressed in khaki-colored safari gear. He was reading a thick book and didn’t notice the Gym’s visitors as they arrived.

 

Matt started to raise his arm to wave to the boy, but Nekou grabbed it and pulled it back down; he quickly understood why she did this, and said to Olivia, “Go ahead, it’s your turn.”

 

Without responding to him, Olivia took Matt’s suggestion. She shakily stepped forward and called out, “I’m here for a Gym battle!”

 

The boy almost fell off the stands because of how surprised he was, but he quickly composed himself, put down his book and jumped down onto the grass.

 

“Hello!” he cheerfully greeted the guests. “Please forgive that, I got so wrapped up in my reading…”

 

“Books are great, aren’t they?” Nekou blurted out.

 

“Yes, they are! I’m glad you recognize that!” Putting his hands on his hips, the boy became more serious and shifted his attention to Olivia. “But I doubt you came here just to talk about books with me. You said you wanted a Gym battle, Miss…”

 

“Olivia.”

 

“Olivia, is that right? Pleased to meet you.” Extending his hand, the boy said, “My name is Bugsy. I’m called the Walking Bug Pokémon Encyclopedia, and I’m the Gym Leader here.”

 

Olivia hesitated for a moment, but then shook Bugsy’s hand. Matt, Nekou, Nikolai, Looker and Silver all made their way to the stands, while Olivia and Bugsy went to their opposing sides on the battlefield.

 

“Olivia, how many Badges and Pokémon do you have?”

 

“No Badges…” Olivia answered, her voice suddenly becoming weak. “…but I do have four Pokémon.”

 

“So then, as by the Pokémon League regulations, this will be a three-on-three Single Battle. I won’t be able to make substitutions, and if you beat all three of my Pokémon, you win. Of course, if I beat all three of yours, I win.”

 

“Wait, no referee?” Olivia asked, having become confused immediately upon noticing the absence of one.

 

“We’re really easygoing here in Azalea Town… if you noticed, we haven’t been touched much by the flow of time, while all the other cities have been to some extent. I’m the only one at this Gym, so it’s really my passion project. I want to create a shrine to Bug Pokémon with my own hands… and that’s why, in this Gym, everything that happens will depend upon your knowledge of Bug Pokémon.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“Every Pokémon I choose will be determined by your answers to questions about Bug-type Pokémon and moves,” Bugsy explained as he took out and opened a green Pokédex. “As the Walking Bug Pokémon Encyclopedia, it’s my job to ensure you leave this Gym knowing more about them than when you entered.”

 

“Well, that’s unusual,” Nikolai muttered.

 

“Every Gym is different,” Silver said. “I had to do this when I won the Hive Badge, too.”

 

“Now please,” Bugsy invited, “send out your first Pokémon, and we shall begin.”

 

“O-okay. Lillipup, let’s play!”

 

While Olivia’s Lillipup took shape on the battlefield, Matt watched Olivia’s movements and listened to her voice. _“She’s nervous, I can tell. I hope she can handle this…”_

 

“A Lillipup? I’m pleased to be getting the chance to battle a Pokémon from Unova. Now then, my first Pokémon will either be Kakuna or Pineco, depending on whether or not you answer this question correctly: of all Bug-type moves that directly inflict damage on an opponent, which of them delivers the weakest blow? Pin Missile, Leech Life or Twineedle?”

 

“Pin Missile,” Nekou mouthed, playing along for herself.

 

“I’ll guess Leech Life.”

 

“Sorry, it was Pin Missile.”

 

Olivia’s face sank as soon as Bugsy revealed that she’d answered incorrectly. “Damn it…” she whispered, her arm trembling slightly.

 

“Now that the question is out of the way, because you answered wrong, this is who you face!”

 

Bugsy threw one of his Poké Balls, and his Pineco materialized from it. The Pineco peeked out at Lillipup from the inside of his shell, wobbling warily in anticipation of what attack would come.

 

“Let’s get this battle started!” Bugsy announced.

 

Almost immediately, Olivia thrust her arm forward and shouted. “Lillipup, let’s put all that training we did to good use! Crunch!”

 

Lillipup bared his fangs and started running toward Pineco, leaving only a short bark as warning.

 

Seemingly not worried about Lillipup’s attack, Bugsy said simply, “Pineco, hold fast.”

 

Following his trainer’s direction, Pineco stopped wobbling and stiffened up his body. As a result, when Lillipup bit down on him, he flinched only slightly. Crunch was largely ineffective on him.

 

“What?” Olivia gasped. “Why didn’t that work?”

 

“I guessed that your Lillipup likely only just learned Crunch from when you said you had done training, and then calculated that Pineco would be able to weather it. Seems I was right… now, Pineco, Rapid Spin!”

 

Olivia and all of the spectators could only watch as Bugsy’s Pineco threw Lillipup across the battlefield by spinning around violently. Lillipup stumbled to his feet fairly quickly, but Olivia was visibly shaken.

 

“Hang in there, Lillipup…” she said, her voice shaking. “You know, let’s try the other new move you learned. Work Up!”

 

Regaining his footing, Lillipup barked twice while surrounded by a faint red glow. After the light faded, he glared at Pineco and growled.

 

“Smart move,” Nekou observed. “One hit wouldn’t get through Pineco’s defenses, so what do you do? Get stronger.”

 

Matt nodded his head in agreement, but remained silent, owing to his concern over Olivia’s actions.

 

The meaning of Olivia’s use of Work Up wasn’t lost on the young Gym Leader, either. “Pineco, be cautious. Don’t let Lillipup get too close to you, otherwise you’ll get hit hard!”

 

“So you know what that does…” Olivia said, clenching her fist. “Might as well show you what it looks like. Lillipup, Tackle!”

 

“Keep Lillipup back with Venoshock!”

 

Showing very little of the fear that often cropped up when he faced a challenging enemy, Lillipup rushed straight at Pineco. The Bug-type Pokémon was ready, however, and used his power to pools of sludge around himself. Narrow, jagged bolts rose from each pool, then descended to strike Lillipup back.

 

“Difficult this will be if Pineco ensures Lillipup stays at the length of an arm,” Looker commented.

 

“She’ll work it out,” Nekou countered, “you can bet on that.”

 

Olivia was finding it a struggle to even figure out a way to try to overcome Pineco’s defenses. Work Up would have solved the problem of the Bug-type’s durable body, but if Lillipup could never reach him, that would be useless. Focusing on this problem left Olivia trembling and silent.

 

After shaking the slime from Venoshock out of his fur, Lillipup realized he hadn’t heard any further commands and turned back to Olivia. Seeing the state she was in prompted him to bark at her.

 

“Lillipup… what?” she asked, snapping partially back into reality.

 

Lillipup barked again, then darted at Pineco once more, this time trying to run faster than he had earlier. Olivia picked up on what he was trying to indicate, going wide-eyed as soon as she realized it, but it was too late to avoid falling into Bugsy’s trap a second time.

 

“Venoshock, again!” he called out.

 

Lillipup was repelled from Pineco’s space by the toxic waves once more, but as soon as he regained his footing, he looked hopefully to his trainer.

 

 “You almost outran it that time… if this is what it takes, let’s do it. Take Down!”

 

Lillipup smiled; his goal had been to convince Olivia that he could outrun the interference of Venoshock, and she picked up on it. This time, he didn’t just start running at Pineco, he first tensed his leg muscles, crouched and built as much strength as he could, allowing him to shoot forward like a bullet.

 

“Venoshock, once more!” Bugsy ordered.

 

The young Gym Leader was in for a rude surprise, however. Pineco called upon the poisonous attack a third time, but the bolts converged too slowly, and Lillipup ran right past them. Pineco was caught completely off guard and defenseless, and when Lillipup collided with him, he was sent flying straight into one of the trees surrounding the battlefield.

 

Lillipup didn’t escape harm, though, as the sheer force of his impact on Pineco sapped a good deal of his remaining strength, leaving him panting.

 

“Well played!” Bugsy said. “You got through my outer wall of defenses… so this is now a close-quarters battle! Pineco, Bug Bite!”

 

“Lillipup… try throwing it with Crunch!”

 

Recovering, Pineco rolled down and sprang off the tree, aiming to trap Lillipup with the mouth hidden under its shell. Lillipup was ready, however, and dodged the attack by rolling on his stomach along the ground. Once Pineco crashed onto the floor, Lillipup turned and lunged, grabbing the Bug-type in his mouth. He then spun around and flung Pineco back into the tree, but this time, Pineco fell off into the dirt and didn’t get up.

 

Bugsy was briefly silent, having been left dumbfounded by the sudden reversal of his fortunes. It sank in quickly for him, though, and he recalled his fallen Pineco before smiling at Olivia. “That was something. I wasn’t ready for you to turn things around on me like that. Having seen what you’re capable of, I think you can stand up to my next Pokémon, which will be tougher.”

 

“Tougher…?” Olivia whispered, the color draining from her face.

 

“But first, we have to have the next question. Answer it correctly and you’ll face my Shelmet, answer incorrectly and you’ll face Illumise. Here’s the question: which of these is not one of Pinsir’s possible Abilities? Is it Hyper Cutter, Anger Point or Mold Breaker?”

 

“Anger Point,” Nekou whispered without hesitation.

 

“Let’s see…” Thinking back to her classes, Olivia recalled the effects of all three choices. “Hyper Cutter blocks any lowering of attack power… Anger Point maximizes its attack power when it’s hit critically… Mold Breaker ignores the target’s Ability… all three of them are good choices, but the one that doesn’t fit is Mold Breaker, so I’ll have to go with that.”

 

“Sorry, it was Anger Point!” Bugsy revealed before taking up and throwing Illumise’s Poké Ball.

 

 _“How did I mess that up?”_ Olivia thought to herself in panic. _How did I mess that one up?”_

 

Bugsy’s Illumise took shape on the battlefield, and the firefly Pokémon immediately locked eyes with Lillipup. Sensing the strain Lillipup had begun feeling, Illumise waved her arm, as if she was daring Lillipup to challenge her.

 

“Lillipup, be careful…” Olivia warned. “I… I think there’s something up his sleeve…”

 

Lillipup nodded, agreeing with Olivia’s assumption. Though he was worn by his clash with Pineco, Lillipup was still sharp enough to realize the obvious trap in Illumise’s dare.

 

“A smart prediction, Olivia. Walking into my first attack would have been a mistake. But you can’t just stand there and not move, right?”

 

“That’s… that’s right.” Olivia answered while fidgeting around.

 

“That’s because if you stand still, you’ll be caught in my other moves. Illumise, Thunderbolt!”

 

Quickly recalling how she defeated Pineco, Olivia reasoned that the same strategy would work against Illumise. “Use Take Down and get out of the way!”

 

Lillipup rushed forward just quickly enough to escape the electricity that burst from Illumise’s body. After ceasing her attack, the Bug-type Pokémon simply stood still, seemingly dumbfounded, and Lillipup forcefully crashed into her.

 

It wasn’t until she saw Illumise bracing against the ground and barely moving that Olivia realized she’d been led into a trap.

 

“Brick Break!” Bugsy called out.

 

“Get away!” Olivia desperately ordered.

 

There was no chance Lillipup could escape, however, and Olivia knew it. He was too close to Illumise to escape, having ended up falling for the trick of getting in close anyway. When Illumise punched Lillipup with a surprising amount of force for her small arms, he was thrown back and then crumpled to the ground. When combined with the injuries he’d suffered from the battle with Pineco, both from his opponent and self-inflicted through Take Down, the Brick Break was far too much for Lillipup to take.

 

“Looks like we’re even now, Olivia!” Bugsy said from across the battlefield. “So who will it be next?”

 

Olivia didn’t respond, instead falling into a hunched, limp stance as she stared at the ground, her hair obscuring her anguished eyes. Voices were tormenting her from inside her head.

 

_“ Someone who should not exist has no right to consider themselves entitled to anything more than the air they are lucky enough to breathe!”_

_“Wow, you didn’t even take the good one, but then again, someone who’s childish in both body and spirit taking a childish Pokémon makes sense!”_

_“How can the poor and those of modest means raise themselves up when the very mechanics supposedly meant to help them actually only advance the already wealthy and elite with handouts and breaks that put them on a higher level practically from birth?!”_

 

“No,” she mumbled, trying to fight back the memories that were forcing doubt onto her. “No, no, no, no, no…”

 

Up in the stands, Matt and the others could see Olivia practically convulsing, and they were growing more concerned.

 

“Nekou,” Matt quietly said, “are you really sure this is okay? I think she might be pushing herself too hard…”

 

“I… I have confidence in her,” Nekou answered, although the nervous tone of her voice betrayed her words.

 

“Her Pokémon want to fight for her,” Nikolai flatly muttered, “but I can feel that her internal conflict is leaving them unable to use their full potential…”

 

Suddenly, a wide, broken grin intruded onto Olivia’s face. “I just have to overcome your Pokémon, one by one, right?” she said as she recalled Lillipup. “It won’t be hard to do that if I go with my strongest!”

 

Olivia didn’t even bother to throw the Poké Ball when she decided on her next Pokémon, instead, she simply opened it in her hand. Her Minccino was that choice, and the Normal-type fretted about the dirt floor, completely failing to notice her trainer’s temperament.

 

“All I have to do to show them I’m not weak is beat you and get that Badge!” Olivia punctuated her strange rant with a giggle, then added, “I get that Badge and then the others and then they all stop tormenting me and then they care about me and then…” Limply raising her arm to point at Illumise, she said, “Minccino, use Tail Slap!”

 

“Thunderbolt!” Bugsy countered, as Minccino rapidly closed in on his Illumise.

 

Illumise was one step ahead of her trainer, having already begun focusing her energy before he even finished issuing the command for Thunderbolt. She discharged an intense blast into Minccino’s body, causing the Normal-type Pokémon to wail in pain.

 

“Minccino, don’t give in to it!” Olivia’s statement was equally an order and a desperate plea. “Get through and hit it, now!”

 

Regaining her footing within the electrical torrent, Minccino pushed gradually forward.

 

Bugsy could only step back in surprise and say to Illumise, “Keep it up! Push Minccino away!”

 

Despite her best efforts, Illumise was already at her limit, and she could not force any more energy into her Thunderbolt. As a result, Minccino managed to force her way all the way up into the firefly’s face and then swung her tail around. The moment that Minccino’s tail connected with Illumise’s body, the overflow of electricity caused an explosion that violently separated them, tossing Minccino toward Olivia while sending Illumise flying into a tree.

 

The two Pokémon stumbled up to face each other again, each nursing their own injuries – Minccino’s fur was burned all over by the electricity, while Illumise had a pair of bruises, one on her front from Tail Slap and one on her back from crashing into the tree.

 

Unwilling to let Bugsy even get an opening, Olivia didn’t hesitate to continue her attack. “Use Swift right now!”

 

Minccino snapped to her feet and swung her tail in Illumise’s direction, showering the Bug-type Pokémon with glowing stars. Illumise had no way to put up much of a defense, and was left to have her body cut repeatedly by the sharp-edged projectiles.

 

“I get it now, I finally get it now…” Olivia said to herself in a hissing voice. She looked to the floor as her body convulsed, then continued, “…all I need to do is rely on my strongest Pokémon and I’ll overcome anything you throw at me!”

 

Almost immediately, Nikolai stood up from his place in the stands, pulled his hat over his eyes and began walking off, muttering, “I can’t be here for this.”

 

Looker and Silver watched Nikolai leave, but Matt and Nekou paid him no mind. They were much more concerned by the mental breakdown they both saw Olivia having in the middle of her Gym battle.

 

“She’s going to destroy herself at this rate…” Matt whispered. “We’ve got to stop this.”

 

“Minccino, Tail Slap!”

 

“Illumise, counter that with Brick Break!”

 

Nekou shook her head in disagreement, though she didn’t turn away from the battle as Minccino and Illumise physically attacked each other once more. “If we interfere now, what will that teach her, besides that every time she gets challenged, we try to shield her from having to face it?”

 

“But… you see her down there. Do you not see how much this pressure is tearing her up?”

 

“If it’s too much for her, she’s going to have to tell us that herself. She won’t ever trust you if you don’t first let her trust herself.”

 

Matt shifted his view rapidly and repeatedly between Nekou and the events unfolding on the battlefield. He was struggling to decide what alarmed him more – Olivia thoughtlessly and mercilessly ordering Minccino to attack Illumise while she simply stood by grinning, or how much that sight horrified Nekou. She had been reduced to leaning forward where she sat, her face completely drained of color and her eyes reflecting a barely suppressed worry.

 

“It’s about time we put an end to this,” Olivia said as Minccino and Illumise separated from striking each other. What she didn’t mention, however, was why she was suddenly eager to end her frenzy of attacks – her manic rush of energy was beginning to abate, and she could feel the crushing fear coming back worse than ever. As she fought the slowly-increasing urge to flee the battle and escape its pressure, she found her sight becoming cloudy. “I’ll end this… right now… Minccino, Wake-Up Slap!”

 

Apparently unafraid of Olivia’s latest attack choice, Bugsy and Illumise simply stood by. Minccino lunged at her foe and delivered a fierce slap across Illumise’s face, but the Bug-type Pokémon barely flinched, much to the horror of both Olivia and Minccino.

 

“You’ll have to think your moves through a little more thoroughly, Olivia. Bug-types resist Fighting-type attacks! Illumise, show her an effective way to use a Fighting-type move with Brick Break!”

 

Stunned by how little of a reaction her move had gotten from Illumise, Minccino didn’t react fast enough to avoid the firefly’s Brick Break and ended up taking a punch right to the chin. She stumbled back several steps as a bruise took shape where she’d just been struck.

 

Olivia realized that she had little time left to take Illumise down, as she was failing to keep the rising panic at bay. Reaching up toward her face with both hands, and with her eyes wide in a state of near madness, she screamed out, “Get rid of that Illumise NOW! Aqua Tail!”

 

Bugsy didn’t give any command for a counter until Minccino was already in the air and descending toward his Pokémon, at which point he said, “Thunderbolt, Illumise!”

 

Just as Minccino struck Illumise, the Bug-type cloaked herself in electricity. The water surrounding Minccino’s tail conducted the electricity up into her body, but when Illumise’s body got wet from it, the energy shorted, resulting in a violent explosion.

 

“Did Olivia manage to beat it?” Matt wondered out loud. Like everyone else assembled in the Gym, he was fixed on the cloud of smoke left where Minccino and Illumise had met, and the stakes of the outcome were not lost on him. He was keenly aware that if Illumise emerged standing even after the exchange, Olivia would likely not be able to take any more. Glancing over to Nekou reinforced his belief, as her quiet, worried look reflected a similar pattern of thought.

 

Perhaps with the exception of Olivia herself, whose focus was stunted from her increasing stress, it was unanimous among those in the Gym that one of the two Pokémon would surely not emerge standing from the blast. The opinion on which one it would be was divided, so as a result, it was a surprise to the onlookers to see both Minccino and Illumise lying on the ground, still and groaning.

 

“Well then, a tie?” Bugsy said with a slight sense of bemusement as he recalled his fallen Pokémon. “You fought well there, Olivia. Your Minccino deserves praise.”

 

Bugsy’s words were barely getting through to Olivia at that point, though. She was too dizzy, too weak and too panicked to even register the compliments she’d been given. When she recalled Minccino, however, Bugsy took it as a signal that she was ready to continue, and he readied his Pokédex once again.

 

“This is the final question, Olivia. Answer it correctly and your opponent will be Kricketune, answer incorrectly and you’ll face my star, Scyther.”

 

“He can’t be serious…” Matt uttered, hoping someone around him would notice. “Does he not see how stressed she is? They should at least take a break…”

 

“Here is the question, listen closely: I am the tallest Bug-type Pokémon, as well as the heaviest. I’m also the heaviest Pokémon of my second type. Am I Yanmega, Scolipede or Crustle?”

 

Olivia barely even heard the questions and choices, and she had even less capacity to consider an answer. Swaying around and just managing to stand on her feet, she replied, “Y… Yanmega…”

 

Little of what came out of Bugsy’s mouth next even reached Olivia’s ears. She heard him say that her answer was incorrect, but she failed to register anything significant after that until his Scyther appeared before her eyes, which snapped her back to attention somewhat.

 

“…so send out your Pokémon, Olivia. This is the last match in our battle – you’ve got one left, I’ve got one left, and the outcome of this will determine if you get the Hive Badge!”

 

That was when it all went horribly wrong.

 

The one thing Olivia hadn’t fully realized until that moment was that she was up against Bugsy’s strongest Pokémon with only one of her own Pokémon still left. Further, with the way the types of the remaining Pokémon in play matched up, there was only one choice she could make. Scyther, being a Bug-and-Flying-type, would make short work of a Grass-type like Roselia, and her moves would do little against the beast. That left Olivia with one option: Oshawott, who still hadn’t regrown his shell and as a result was left with only Water Gun and Tackle for an offense.

 

“I can’t do it…” she quietly said in a broken voice while staring at the ground. In her mind, she was very aware of the exit door right behind her, but her shuddering, numb body wouldn’t move toward it. Her heart felt to her as if it would tear from her chest. “I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it…”

 

“You little wimp. To think I even thought about respecting you.”

 

Jerking her head up, Olivia saw Avril and Renzo standing before her. They weren’t actually present, but her downward spiral left Olivia unable to realize her hallucinations, which replaced everything that truly surrounded her.

 

“When I watched you battle Falkner, I saw you stick it out right to the end,” the hallucinatory Avril continued, her hands on her hips. “But no… you’re so weak that you can’t even beat a bunch of Bug-types? And to think I’m the one who’s a student.”

 

“I just… I couldn’t win, why is that such a big deal to you?!” At this point, Olivia’s mind was just about completely broken. A sick feeling was rising in her stomach. “I just couldn’t do it!”

 

“If it’s not a big deal, why are you whining about it?”

 

“I…”

 

“Silence!” boomed the vision of Renzo. “You disappoint me, Olivia Lynn Mistbloom. I had hoped that you would prove to have earned at least some of your birthright… but you are a disgrace to your name. Your father never would have accepted this.”

 

“Shut up! Don’t talk about him! What right do you have…”

 

“He is right, Olivia.”

 

Olivia stiffened and blinked through the tears filling her eyes. In an instant, Avril and Renzo were gone, replaced by a hallucination of Olivia’s father Rich.

 

“Dad, what are you…”

 

“I raised you to be my heir, Olivia. Even after I died I made sure your education would continue by leaving you in the care of Matt Chiaki… but when your time finally came to shine, you couldn’t even get one Badge. With my job, how could I accept such a thing?” Turning away from Olivia, the false Rich reached into his coat and put a large hat on. “This is goodbye, Olivia. We will not meet again.”

 

As her vision of her father walked off, Olivia broke down and became hysterical. Tears poured from her eyes as she desperately pleaded, “No! Dad, don’t leave me alone! It’s not my fault! I didn’t… Matt didn’t teach me well enough, is that possible? It’s not my fault! I did everything I had to! I don’t want to be left alone…” Suddenly digging her fingernails into the skin on her face, she continued, “I’ll go with you! I’ll go where you are! It’s not my fault, so don’t abandon me!”

 

And then, everything went black.

 

-:-

 

In a different part of the Adenosine Base fairly far from Colress’s main lab was another research facility. Papers and equipment were neatly arranged around the laboratory’s perimeter, while several tall, hexagonal tanks filled with blue liquid stood in the center. It was a professional but cold place, the general mood only broken by a Polaris banner hung on the wall and the photographs littering the work stations.

 

In the back of the lab, Colress and three other scientists stood facing Finansielle, who was addressing them using a large video screen.

 

“Casual day today, Lady Finansielle?” Colress jokingly said, noting that his superior was wearing her helmet, but not the rest of her armor.

 

“I haven’t got time for lighthearted games, Colress,” Finansielle scornfully replied. “Business is very busy here. What have you called me for?”

 

“Ah yes, I should get to that. With my genius, I have already solved the puzzle you gave me.” Turning to the other scientists, Colress took the data drive from his pocket and presented it to one of them. “On that drive is the entire genetic sequence of the Pokérus strain I was tasked with creating, as well as instructions on how to synthesize it. From here, creating it is an easy task.”

 

“Well then, Colress, color me impressed!” Finansielle smiled warmly. “I see my investment in you was well worth it. Now tell me… what is the next step?”

 

“I have begun drawing up plans to build a device that can use the modified Pokérus to unlock the true potential in all Pokémon, as the research you gave me instructed. The data’s instructions were correct – the system will need as much Pokémon battle data as possible, plus the Meteonite.” As he spoke, Colress made his way to a large computer console near the video monitor. “In order to procure those things, I will need to leave this base for a while. The researchers here will be able to create the Pokérus strain from my genetic map, while the Guanosine Base can build the machinery. All I will need to do is write the programming for the system’s software.”

 

With that, Colress pressed a button on the console, causing a container on its top to open. From within he withdrew a computerized visor, which he then replaced his glasses with on his face. He then put his glasses in his coat and took out his tablet, which with a few touches illuminated the visor.

 

“Where do you plan to head now, Colress?” Finansielle asked.

 

“I will fly to the Purine Base first to help Getriebe and Jeunes secure their battle data and the Meteonite. After that, I have a plan to join Ghetsis in Ecruteak City, where I can gather more data for the system firsthand.”

 

“I wish you luck, then.” Slightly lowering her head, Finansielle smiled again. “A new age is about to begin, Colress, and you will be alongside us spearheading it. Polaris’s promised land is not far off.”

 

-:-

 

Gasping deeply for air, Olivia awoke just as abruptly as she’d collapsed.

 

Her vision took its time to refocus, but when she finally could see clearly again, the greenhouse roof of the Azalea Gym was what she saw. She suddenly became aware of the prickling of grass on her legs and realized she was still on the Gym’s battlefield. That shock sent a cold shudder coursing through her body, but her shuddering was restrained.

 

The last thing she came to realize was that while she was lying on the ground, Nekou had her in a tight embrace.

 

“Breathe.”

 

Olivia had no capability to reply, so she just did as she was instructed and drew deep breaths in, one after the other. She turned her sunken eyes upward and saw the simultaneous worry and relief on Nekou’s face, as well as the small teardrops glistening on her glasses.

 

“Is she alright?” Matt said, standing off to the side with Looker and Silver to give Olivia space.

 

“She’s awake, hasn’t said anything yet though… give me the water.”

 

Without another word, Matt tossed one of the water bottles from his bag to Nekou, and she opened it and raised it to Olivia’s mouth.

 

“Get something to drink, it’ll help.”

 

Olivia still couldn’t say anything, but the water wetting her throat was enough of a relief to restore her voice.

 

“W-what…” she rasped.

 

“Take it easy. You collapsed during the battle.”

 

“I’m… still here?”

 

“Yes. We agreed to not try to move you out of fear that it would make things worse.” Seeing Olivia beginning to recover brought a slight but warm smile to Nekou, though it faded somewhat as she recalled what she had seen Olivia doing during her breakdown. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

 

Olivia hesitated with the realization that there were witnesses to her hallucinations. “No… not… not yet.”

 

“That’s fine. Tell me when you’re ready.” Nekou put her hand behind Olivia’s back and helped her sit up.

 

As Olivia sat up on the grass, Bugsy approached with his Scyther. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you weren’t well. If I did, I would have put the battle on hold.”

 

“Olivia, you don’t have to continue this,” Matt gently said, lowering himself to eye level with her after joining them. “There’s no shame in knowing when to stop.”

 

“But at the same time,” Nekou added, “if you think you can keep going, we’ll support you. It’s entirely up to what you think you can handle.”

 

“I started this. I have…” A clear image of her father appeared once again in Olivia’s mind. “I have to finish it.”

 

“Then we’re behind you.”

 

In nearly perfect unison, Matt and Nekou both stood and extended a hand to the girl, and after a moment, Olivia smiled and accepted their help to stand.

 

“You want to continue our battle?” Bugsy questioned, intending to clearly confirm Olivia’s wishes.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I must say, I admire your courage. You must have something worth fighting for, if you’re able to keep standing. Very well, let’s take our places and resume.”

 

While Bugsy and his Scyther walked back to their side of the battlefield, Matt and Nekou made sure that Olivia was alright before returning to the stands with Looker and Silver.

 

“Very brave, she is,” Looker remarked.

 

“She’s tougher than she lets on sometimes…” Matt replied. “I just hope this holds. She was talking to her father and at least one other person who wasn’t there…”

 

Bugsy’s Scyther stood confidently in front of him, looking eagerly at Olivia in the hopes that the Pokémon he’d face would soon appear. His blades glistened in the sunlight shining through the Gym’s roof.

 

“I can’t take it easy on you if you really want the Hive Badge, Olivia,” Bugsy said. “Scyther is my prized Pokémon, after all, and he’s the most fitting representative of what this Gym is about.”

 

“I… I don’t want you to take it easy on me. I have to do this if I’m going to get stronger, because the Gym Leaders after you will just keep getting tougher…” Olivia trailed off as she briefly remembered Renzo and Avril, then added, “…and they aren’t the only ones, either. I have to do this.”

 

“Then let’s both give it all we’ve got.”

 

Olivia took out a Poké Ball and stared at it for several long seconds, thinking intensely about what she was about to do. “I know we haven’t necessarily connected all that well before... but I’m standing behind you this time, so please, do what you can to pull this off…”

 

Olivia’s judgment about the situation she was in hadn’t changed, even though she had had the chance to reevaluate it from a slightly calmer viewpoint. She still knew that Roselia would be helpless against the likes of a Scyther, so it was Oshawott that emerged from the Poké Ball. The moment he realized that the Scyther before him was to be his opponent, he looked back and forth to his trainer in a panic.

 

“Oshawott, calm down.” Olivia did the best she could to soothe Oshawott’s nerves, but hers were so taut that it proved to be a difficult task. “I believe in you, okay? So don’t be afraid.”

 

“Another Pokémon from Unova, huh? I’ve got a Shelmet, but I haven’t seen too many others yet. This ought to be a fun challenge for us both.”

 

“Where is that Oshawott’s shell?” Silver quietly asked, having taken notice of the implement’s absence from Oshawott’s stomach.

 

“It broke a while ago and hasn’t yet regrown,” Nekou replied. “Just hope she doesn’t need it.”

 

“Well then, let’s get started! Scyther, Fury Cutter!”

 

“Try to get out of the way and then use Tackle!”

 

Using his strong legs, Scyther sprang at Oshawott with his blades at the ready. Olivia’s Water-type was able to roll out of the way, however, leaving Scyther to strike at the ground instead. He then jumped up and collided with Scyther’s back, but the Gym Leader’s Pokémon only stumbled as a result.

 

“Oh no!” Olivia gasped when she saw how close to Scyther Oshawott landed.

 

“Yes, I’ve got you this time! Fury Cutter, again!”

 

“Use Water Gun!” This was an act of desperation on Olivia’s part. She was aware of how limited her options were with only Tackle and Water Gun to use, and she was putting all the thought she could into ways to apply them.

 

Luckily for her, Water Gun had an unintended effect she never would have thought of. Before Scyther could turn around to lash out again, Oshawott sprayed a jet of water in his face. Not only did this stun Scyther, but the force of the water also propelled Oshawott backward, putting distance between the two.

 

“Oh, that was clever, Olivia,” Bugsy complimented, believing Olivia had deliberately intended to cause what had happened. “Scyther, Vacuum Wave! Catch it!”

 

Before Olivia or Oshawott could react, Scyther crossed his glowing blades and then sharply separated them, sending a bright blue pulse of energy to engulf his Water-type foe. Oshawott was left to fall face-first to the ground.

 

“You have it now, Scyther! Fury Cutter!”

 

“Oshawott, be careful!” Olivia cried, seeing that Oshawott was seemingly trapped underneath the sickle that was bearing down on him. Her focus on the seemingly hopeless situation suddenly produced an answer, however, when she realized exactly how Oshawott was lying on the ground. Smiling, she quickly called out, “Oshawott, use Water Gun to power your Tackle!”

 

Scyther was completely caught off guard by Oshawott abruptly rocketing off the ground by using Water Gun to propel himself, and ended up taking a blow right to the chin. The Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon stumbled back and nearly fell, while his Water-type opponent managed to flip through the air and land neatly. A slash from Scyther’s Vacuum Wave was visible on Oshawott’s torso, but the rush he was getting from fighting back gave him enough resolve to try and ignore the pain.

 

“So this is how an Oshawott with no shell actually stands up against a Scyther,” Silver uttered, unable to stop himself from getting drawn into the battle.

 

“I must compliment you, Olivia,” Bugsy said, a wide, satisfied grin coming onto his face. “I don’t see too many challengers with the kind of fire you have… funny, considering you’re using a Water-type starter Pokémon, isn’t it? But let me show you something… Bug-types are weak to fire, I’m sure you know that. But did you know that Bug-types can fight with the same fire you’re showing me now? Scyther, Razor Wind!”

 

Scyther straightened out his body and stood at his full height, looking down on Oshawott as he began to flap his four wings. A whirlwind took shape in front of him, rapidly growing in intensity.

 

Both Olivia and Oshawott realized that using Tackle would mean willingly jumping right into the vortex, so without any order being necessary, Oshawott aimed a Water Gun at Scyther. It was, however, ineffective, as the whirlwind acted as a shield that blew away all the water. Compounding Olivia’s problems, Scyther then pulled back, allowing the twister to consume Oshawott. He was pulled upward through the funnel, with the violent winds cutting at him repeatedly, until he was thrown out through the whirlwind’s top and crashed to the ground, covered in cuts. The twister then continued on until it crashed into one of the trees, dissipating as it shredded the silk connected to it, bits of which fell near Olivia’s feet.

 

“Vacuum Wave!”

 

Scyther quickly followed up his successful Razor Wind by lashing Oshawott with another energy blast.

 

With Oshawott left lying on the ground and panting,  Olivia realized that one more severe blow would likely bring her second Gym challenge to another failure of an ending. She grasped her left arm as her body trembled; once again, the walls felt like they were closing in on her, and she felt trapped in more ways than one.

 

One thing she didn’t count on was the situation completely changing.

 

All of a sudden, a bright blue glow surrounded Oshawott’s body, and he stood back up, growling at Scyther as if he was more energized than ever.

 

“That’s Oshawott’s Ability, Torrent!” Nekou exclaimed. “Bugsy weakened Oshawott so much that it activated!”

 

“This battle just stopped being so one-sided,” Silver observed. “I’ve seen the use Torrent can provide with my Feraligatr.”

 

Bugsy stood just as surprised as Olivia was herself. “I… thought I had this. I guess it goes to show that I still have plenty to learn… but first, I have to put an end to this battle! Scyther, Razor Wind once more!”

 

While Scyther started forming the whirlwind again, Olivia understood what Bugsy’s logic was – neither Tackle nor Water Gun would get past it, so he was betting on her not having another move he hadn’t yet seen. She was, however, herself willing to gamble that Oshawott’s newfound energy would change the tide by itself.

 

“Water Gun!” she commanded, discreetly crossing her fingers.

 

The whirlwind was nearly up to full strength when Oshawott fired a blast of water at it, but in spite of that, it was easily sliced through by Oshawott’s attack, which was many times more intense than it had been before. With his vision blocked by his own preparation, Scyther could never have seen the Water Gun coming, and he took a direct, powerful blow to the head. Olivia’s eyes glowed as she excitedly watched her fortunes change.

 

“She can win this with power like that!” Matt said, getting uncharacteristically excited.

 

“I should have expected Torrent,” Bugsy remarked, “with the number of Totodile, Squirtle and their evolutions I see here. I guess I got thrown off by it being a Unova Pokémon… no matter. You put in a great effort, but I’m ending this! Scyther, use Vacuum Wave!”

 

“Try Water Gun again!” Olivia reflexively countered, reacting nearly instantly upon Bugsy giving his order. She recognized that if she was to have any chance of overcoming Scyther, she would have to get around this latest attack first.

 

In front of many pairs of anticipating eyes, Oshawott’s water blast and Scyther’s energy wave met. Torrent gave Oshawott the power he needed to equal Scyther’s offense but not to overwhelm it, so the two attacks explosively negated each other, sending a cloud washing over both Pokémon.

 

Moments later, a bright light burst out from where Oshawott was standing within the smoke.

 

“That’s…” Looker gasped. He was the only one of the spectators able to think quickly enough to speak, as the others were all enraptured by what was happening in front of them.

 

Olivia knew what was going on, but she was so surprised that all she could do was watch. She thought back to the events earlier in the day and remembered Nikolai telling her that Oshawott was bursting with energy, a memory that left her smiling to herself.

 

 _“All that training in Union Cave had a point to it, I guess,”_ she thought as she took out her own Pokédex.

 

The light and smoke disappeared roughly simultaneously, revealing that Oshawott was no longer anywhere to be seen. Instead, standing in his place was a taller otter Pokémon, colored mostly in shades of blue and bearing a shell on each of his thighs.

 

“Oshawott evolved,” Nekou smugly said. “Told you something good would happen for her.”

 

_“Dewott, the discipline Pokémon. Type is Water. Evolved form of Oshawott._ _As a result of strict training, each Dewott learns different forms for using the scalchops.”_

 

Olivia continued thumbing through the Pokédex to learn if Dewott had acquired any new moves. “Razor Shell and Aqua Jet… yes, I think I can do with those. Now that you’ve finally got your shell back, Oshaw… Dewott, let’s put it to use. Razor Shell!”

 

“Fury Cutter!” Bugsy ordered, snapping out of his surprise at Dewott’s evolution.

 

Dewott snapped one of the shells off his thigh and held it up, causing it to turn into an elongated blade, then lunged at Scyther. Scyther took a similar action, and soon, the two were locked in a vicious swordfight using their respective weapons. While Bugsy’s Pokémon was the more aggressive of the two, he was crippled by an unexpected disadvantage – Dewott’s smaller size enabled the Water-type to quickly dodge in and out of Scyther’s slashes, rendering the Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon unable to land any of his strikes.

 

Even though Dewott wasn’t getting hit, though, Olivia could tell that he also wasn’t going to get in any blows of his own. Looking around at her surroundings, she suddenly noticed the bits of silk at her feet and came up with an alternative idea. “Dewott, use Aqua Jet and go into the bushes, then keep moving!”

 

Water surrounded Dewott as he rocketed away into the foliage surrounding the battlefield and disappeared. Scyther loudly snarled about the inconvenience, and Bugsy indulged his Pokémon’s desires with his next direction. “Go in after that Dewott, Scyther!”

 

Scyther cried out and then lunged into the bushes as well, vanishing just as Dewott had done.

 

For the next few minutes, an uncomfortable silence broken only by the sound of rustling leaves settled over the Gym as Dewott and Scyther chased each other in a circle around the edge of the battlefield. Olivia focused carefully on the sounds and where she perceived them to be coming from. Bugsy was certain she had something up her sleeve, but could only grimace in frustration as he was unable to figure out what it was.

 

Suddenly, Olivia screamed, “Now! Come out!”

 

Dewott darted out of the brush as soon as Olivia gave the command to do so, and Scyther followed moments later – only to be violently lashed to a halt in midair as his wings got caught in the sticky silk linking the trees he’d emerged between. Dewott was small enough to fit between the threads but Scyther wasn’t.

 

“You led me into a trap!” Bugsy uttered in disbelief.

 

“That’s right, I did,” Olivia answered, smirking deviously. “Now take this! Dewott, Razor Shell!”

 

After snickering mischievously, Dewott armed himself, once again taking one of his shells in his right hand, and jumped at the trapped Scyther, first bashing him over the head with it. Dewott then spun around and delivered a devastating hit to Scyther’s chin, one so powerful that it tore Scyther from the silk and threw him up into the air.

 

“Scyther!”

 

Bugsy’s plea was in vain. As soon as Scyther crashed to the ground, he collapsed and did not get up. The battle was over.

 

As the weight of the situation began to sink in, Olivia’s body became weak. “I… I did it…” she whispered as she fell to her knees. “I actually… didn’t fail…”

 

Before Olivia even knew what was going on, Nekou was on the field embracing her. “I’m fucking proud of you, Olivia! I told you you could kick the ass of a Gym Leader, and you did!”

 

“Dewott!” her victorious Pokémon chimed in, having joined the pair.

 

“Oh, Dewott, I’m proud of you!” Olivia slipped from Nekou’s arms and hugged Dewott as tears began flowing down her face. “I’m sorry I was so mean to you before! I really should… I should have believed in you from the start!”

 

“Dew, dewott.” Seemingly disregarding the behavior Olivia felt she had to apologize for, Dewott instead reveled in the attention he was receiving.

 

“Olivia.”

 

Hearing Matt’s voice snapped Olivia to attention, and she stood and turned to face him. However, she said nothing and merely stared at him, conflicted about how to react.

 

And then, he smiled. It was small, but for him it reflected significant warmth. “Good work. That proved to me how misguided I was with the way I treated you. You’re someone who is grown up enough to handle the truth, so no more lies. I’m going to respect you from now on. Not only that, I promise to do whatever I can to make your life easier, so just ask me if you ever need anything. My promise is to you now, not to a foolish idea of what I think will help you.”

 

“Thank you,” Olivia graciously replied.

 

“There’s not really much I can add to all of this, is there?” Olivia, Nekou, Matt and Dewott all turned to Bugsy, who had approached to join them. Scratching the back of his head, the Gym Leader said, “I just have to compliment you, Olivia. I’ve seen challengers lose their will and leave, but you didn’t do that… you stuck it out and overcame everything thrown at you. You deserve this.”

 

Bugsy extended his hand to Olivia. In it was a round pin bearing a red-and-black ladybug pattern – the Hive Badge.

 

-:-

 

Hours later, after night had fallen, a clear sky full of stars hung over Goldenrod City. The metropolis stretched on for what seemed like forever, sprawled over most of Johto’s central peninsula with a densely populated, heavily developed area at its core.

 

The bright neon lights shining from buildings, billboards and countless other structures gave the city the golden glow it was named for, and one could be fooled by it into thinking that the city was a man-made paradise. However, the stark reality was more like the typical negative stereotype of a big city, at least in the less-developed areas. Discarded trash was scattered about many of the streets, and numerous Pokémon considered pests, including Rattata, Grimer and the occasional Trubbish and Garbodor, were lurking about. The unsettling truth hidden by the fancy cover of the city’s central area wasn’t lost on Jessie, James and Ariana as they escorted Giovanni through the streets of the southern district, all four of them concealing their identities behind black trench coats and hats.

 

“Look at this place,” Jessie whispered to James as they walked. She was observing the run-down conditions of many of the buildings, and her stomach turned to think of the people who had to live in them. “I lived this, and for everything I’ve done, this is what I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone. Not even that bratty twerp.”

 

Subtly nodding in agreement, James added, “If we did take over, we’d definitely treat the people better than this. Just because we want to be in charge, that doesn’t mean we want to cause too much harm to who we rule. We’d take over but make sure people could live better than this.”

 

“The city is like this because of the Angel Corporation’s developments,” Ariana bitterly remarked. The state of Viridian City was right at the front of her mind. “Ever since they started capitalizing on the Frontier Society, it’s been nothing but non-stop development everywhere.”

 

“Hey, wait. Shouldn’t we do something about him?”

 

At James’s notice, Jessie, Ariana and Giovanni stopped walking and glanced in the direction he was pointing. It turned out that he had noticed someone sitting on the sidewalk as they passed, and the young man’s physical state was a perfect example of the problems Goldenrod’s slums had. Dressed in a dirty brown coat and holding a cardboard sign, he was slouched against one of the buildings in a way that made it difficult to tell if he was awake, asleep or even alive.

 

James leaned down to read the sign. “Lost four times at Goldenrod Gym. No more money for healing, food or lodging.”

 

“James!” Jessie’s sudden call startled her partner, and he turned abruptly to look at her. “Give him this.”

 

Jessie reached into her pocket for a roll of money that she then tossed to James. After catching it, he reached down to the failed trainer.

 

“Hey, are you awake?”

 

“Wh…what…?” the young man weakly asked, pushing his hat up so he could see.

 

“Take this. Try to take better care of yourself.”

 

The young man hesitated out of surprise before taking the money from James. “Thank you, really! This will get me into the Pokémon Center so I can heal my Pokémon and have a place to rest tonight!”

 

“Think nothing of it,” Jessie said. “Just don’t spend it all in one place. Rest up and try training more before you challenge another Gym.”

 

“I will. Just... thank you so much!”

 

Jessie and James turned away as the young man stood up, but Ariana caught Giovanni furtively stopping him and slipping him some more money out of the corner of her eye. She smiled to herself before he could notice. Soon, the four were walking again.

 

“That was kind of weird,” James commented to Jessie. “We used to be the ones with no money. Now we’re the ones giving it out.”

 

“Well, that changed because we got the Boss to have faith in us, of course. After we got promoted, money wasn’t a problem anymore.”

 

A sudden beeping interrupted Jessie and James’s conversation, and all four of them stopped walking in front of an alley. Ariana took a small GPS device bearing Team Rocket’s insignia from her pocket and looked at it.

 

“This is the place,” she announced to the others.

 

“Yes, yes it is.” Pierce had emerged from the alley without notice to join the quartet. “It is good to see that you’ve all made it here in one piece.”

 

“Pierce, where is the base you were going to have prepared?” Jessie sharply questioned.

 

“Right this way. Professor Rosalie, Trevor, Ada and I have been awaiting your arrival.”

 

Pierce turned, crossed his hands behind his back, and began walking down the alley. Giovanni, Ariana, Jessie and James followed.

 

-:-

 

At around the same time, Matt, Nekou and Olivia were sitting at a table in a small, candlelit restaurant in Azalea Town.

 

“Thanks for doing this for me…”

 

“Olivia, please, don’t sound so down,” Matt said in an attempt to encourage her. “You did really well today, so we’re having a little celebration.”

 

“Is there anything you want to do while we wait for the food?” Nekou asked Olivia.

 

Olivia thought for a moment while petting Dewott, who was sitting contently next to her, then said, “I want to talk to my mom. Can you guys make that happen?”

 

“I don’t see why not.” After taking his tablet computer out of his bag, which was sitting on the seat next to him, Matt tapped the phone icon on its menu screen and selected ‘Anabel’ from his contact list. He then handed the computer to Olivia while the phone function dialed.

 

An animation of a telephone shaking over its cradle looped on the screen for some time, but when the line was finally picked up, it was replaced by a video stream of a pale woman with a somewhat sunken face and long, unkempt lavender hair.

 

“…Olivia?” the woman said in surprise.

 

“It’s good to see you, mom! Ask me how I’ve been!”

 

“Where are you?”

 

“Olivia, let me talk to her for a second.” Olivia tilted the computer toward Matt so the woman on the screen could see him. “Anabel, she’s with us, like always. Right now, we’re sitting down for dinner in Azalea Town.”

 

“And do you want to know why?” Olivia asked as she turned the computer back to herself. “I got my first Badge today!”

 

“Oh, is that so…? Well done, Olivia. I’m proud of you.”

 

“And I know Dad would have been, too.” Anabel visibly recoiled at Olivia mentioning her father, but Olivia wasn’t fazed. “I know about what really happened.”

 

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you…”

 

“I don’t blame you for it. I… I think I’m over not knowing the truth now.”

 

“Our food’s coming,” Nekou interjected, having spotted their waiter approaching the table.

 

“Olivia, keep going and be strong. Make your father proud. He’s always going to be with you.”

 

“I will! Bye, Mom!”

 

Olivia ended the call and handed the tablet back to Matt as the waiter arrived.

 

“Two premium steaks, one medium with grilled onions and the other rare with garlic and chili powder?”

 

“Rare’s mine,” Nekou said. “Nice, hot and raw, the way I like it.”

 

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Matt sighed as he set up his own plate.

 

“And one deluxe macaroni and cheese for the lady,” the waiter politely said as he handed the last plate over the Olivia. “Let me know if you need anything,” he added before leaving.

 

“That looks good, Olivia,” Nekou commented.

 

“My dad used to make something like this for me,” she answered, a strong hint of melancholy in her voice.. “He said it was something from where he grew up, Sootopolis City.”

 

Matt and Nekou began eating, but Olivia didn’t touch her food at all right away. Instead, she spent the next few minutes sitting silently and staring at it.

 

“I’ve decided,” she suddenly blurted out.

 

“Decided? What do you mean?” Matt questioned.

 

“I… I think I know what I want to do now. I mean, I don’t know why I want to do it yet… but I feel like I need to focus on Gyms and forget about Contests for now…”

 

“I was wondering what had happened to those, actually,” Nekou said while spinning her fork in her fingers.

 

“Are you absolutely sure you want to do that? When I first met you, you loved Contests.”

 

Olivia returned an intense gaze into Matt’s eye. “I still do. But if I’m going to find what I’m meant to do, I have to focus on one effort at a time. Otherwise my attention will be spread too thin. Before I can worry about Contests, I have to really learn more about straight battling.”

 

“That’s a very mature thing you’ve done, then, making such a decision by yourself. I think Nekou would agree with me on that.” Matt sighed again when he saw that Nekou was already eating and could only respond by nodding wildly. “My point is, you’re taking charge of your own future, and I couldn’t be more proud of you for that.”

 

“Thanks… now, I think Nekou’s right, we should eat.”

 

-:-

 

Even later on in the middle of the night, a man in a Team Rocket uniform was hiding out in a cave somewhere and speaking to Dr. Zager using a computer contained inside a heavy briefcase. He wore a black beret over his green hair, which was styled into the shape of an axe blade on its side.

 

“Proton, your mission is to defeat the Polaris member who has gone to Ilex Forest. We’ve received intelligence that one of their high-ranking members is there from our man on the inside of their Goldenrod operation. That might not be what you really have to worry about, though…

 

Proton raised an eyebrow at Zager’s advice. “Explain to me just what’s going on.”

 

“There was a burst of energy matching the Meteonite in the general area of Union Cave recently,” Zager elaborated. “I suspect Polaris is to blame for it, and if I’m correct, there may be more inciden…” The sudden sound of an alarm interrupted him, and he looked to his computers, only to quickly become visibly panicked. “Speak of the devil… they’re doing something right now!”

 

“What now?” Proton demanded, his voice containing a slight growl.

 

“Look at this.” Zager swiftly entered a command into his system, which caused a window containing a digital reading of the area between Azalea Town and Goldenrod City to appear on Proton’s screen. Part of the space depicted on the reading was marked with a bright red circle. “That’s another Meteonite burst. One just hit in Ilex Forest...”

 

Before Proton could respond, the alarm sounded again, and a yellow dot appeared on the readout. Zager simply regarded this one with surprise, and he entered several commands into his computer to make sure he wasn’t seeing it incorrectly.

 

“A temporal distortion... the Meteonite burst must have disrupted temporal energy flowing through Ilex Forest. This could be a precursor to the opening of a Time Gate…”

 

-:-

 

In the Pokémon Center, Olivia awoke with a start, clutching her stomach. Unable to move her legs much, she simply rolled out of her bed and crashed to the floor, waking Matt up. She barely missed falling on Dewott, who was sleeping next to her bed and also awoke with a start.

 

“Olivia?!” he gasped, desperately trying to put on his glasses without catching them in his eyepatch. “What’s wrong?”

 

“It… it hurts…”

 

The noise stirred Nekou, and she dropped the beer bottle she had been clutching while sprawled on her bed. “What’s going on…?”

 

“I’m… I’m…”

 

Unable to speak further, Olivia suddenly vomited onto the floor and rolled over on her side. Nekou was up and at Olivia’s side in an instant, throwing two more beer cans aside from under the sheets as she sprang up. Dewott, meanwhile, cried out, unable to do anything to help.

 

“Go get the nurse,” Nekou directed Matt while holding Olivia in her arms. “This is a Pokémon Center, but they should be able to help her.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 11**


	12. Alekhine's Gun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An encounter with Team Rocket leads Matt’s group into Ilex Forest, where another Meteonite outbreak ultimately ends with a confrontation with one of Polaris’s Chromosomes.

There is some drug use and bloody violence in this chapter, just a warning.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 12:** Alekhine’s Gun

 

-:-

 

In the dark alley within Goldenrod City’s southern slum, Pierce led Giovanni, Ariana, Jessie and James to a hidden doorway. Once inside the building, he brought them to the top floor and stopped just outside of a closed room.

 

“Giovanni, Ariana, right this way,” Pierce said as he inserted a key into the door and opened it.

 

Giovanni nodded to Pierce and entered the room, followed in similar fashion by the others. Pierce closed and relocked the door once they were all inside.

 

The base Pierce had spoken of was, in actuality a mostly empty storage area. Three laptop computers were set up on some tables at the end of the room, where three other people were waiting. Jessie and James hung back, their faces glistening with nerve-induced sweat.

 

“Giovanni, sir!” the older of the two women happily said. Her age was given away by the streaks of gray in her thick, dark green hair, but she was also bound to a sophisticated computerized wheelchair. Using a trackpad located next to the red digital keyboard on her right armrest, she maneuvered herself up to Giovanni. “Good to see you all here in one piece. We’ve gotten the base together, as ordered.” She took an ornate pipe and lighter out of the pocket on her floral-necked lab coat, then lit the pipe and deeply inhaled from it before adding, “It’s a modest affair, I know, but it serves its purpose.”

 

“Rosalie, what of the Meteonite?”

 

Before Rosalie could answer Giovanni’s question, Jessie and James jumped in front of him and interrupted. The worry they both felt was overwhelming, and when added to how close they both felt to what they wanted, they were both left fighting back tears in front of their superiors.

 

“Boss, please forgive us, but we can’t wait anymore!”

 

James immediately continued Jessie’s thought by saying, “Meowth has been missing for too long! Do you three know where he is?!”

 

Giovanni clenched his fist, but calmed when Ariana grabbed his arm.

 

“Don’t get mad at them, it’s not worth it. They just miss their teammate… which is understandable.”

 

Rosalie smiled warmly. “My, my, you’re quite eager, aren’t you? Luckily, I think I have some good news. Trevor, Ada, come here.”

 

Responding to the scientist’s gesture, the other two Team Rocket members who had been waiting with her approached. Both of them were wearing black variations of Stacia’s uniform, complete with the same parallel columns of gold buttons on the chests. Trevor wore pants and boots with his uniform while Ada wore a one-piece, knee-length dress and sneakers.

 

“Go ahead and tell them what we got,” Rosalie directed after a moment of Jessie and James just staring eagerly up at them.

 

“W-well…” Ada shyly said. Out of nervousness, she scratched at her sky-blue hair as she spoke. “…Team Rocket has… someone on the inside of Polaris. Based on what he’s told us… Meowth is somewhere in this city.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Is that really true?”

 

Amused by Jessie and James’s passion for saving Meowth, Trevor laughed and brushed some of his long brown hair from his face. “It’s called the Purine Base, apparently. We know that it’s one of Polaris’s major facilities and that it’s in this very city, but we don’t know exactly where. Apparently, the exact location is kept a secret even from Polaris’s members.”

 

“It would stand to reason that they also took the Meteonite there,” Ariana concluded, disgust evident on her face and in her voice. “If we find Meowth, we find the Meteonite.”

 

“Correct, Executive Ariana,” Rosalie confirmed. “We know that wherever the Purine Base in Goldenrod City is, Polaris has definitely taken both Meowth and the Meteonite there.”

 

“Then we should find out where they are, march right in and take what belongs to us!” Jessie boldly proposed. She accentuated her point by balling up her fist and striking it against her chest.

 

“Patience.” Trevor urged, before smirking mischievously. “We’re working on a plan for when all our forces are ready, but mark my words, we will look for Polaris, we will find them, and we will beat them.”

 

“W-we can’t b-be… too reckless. Polaris is… already planning something in this city.”

 

“Do explain,” Giovanni ordered.

 

Rosalie took a long drag from her pipe and exhaled the smoke, then entered a command into her wheelchair’s computer. A red-and-black digital screen was projected in front of her, and an intense look filled her somewhat-bloodshot eyes as she looked at it.

 

“A post went up on the Polaris website,” she explained. “It says that a ‘day of the people’ will take place in Goldenrod City in three days… well, two, once midnight passes… and it will include a speech presented live in person by Ghetsis’s deputy Zinzolin. We suspect they might be planning to use the public protest as a cover for some other deed.”

 

Giovanni did not respond right away. Instead, he walked across the room to a large chair that was set up near a wide window, sat down, and leaned to his side as he thought.

 

“I agree,” he finally said, “they’re likely using it as a distraction. We can try to implement our own operation to derail theirs. Rosalie, Ada, Trevor, keep gathering intelligence from our man on the inside while we wait for our remaining field agents.”

 

“Yes, sir!” all three of them responded.

 

“What about us, dear Boss?” James asked, resisting the urge to fall to his knees and beg.

 

“You two will wait here,” he rumbled dramatically. “I have a very specific job in mind for you.”

 

-:-

 

On the eastern end of Azalea Town, a short distance from both the main population and the town’s entrance, stood the Slowpoke Well. While on the surface it merely seemed to be an unassuming stone tube piercing the earth, at the bottom of the well was an expansive cave, the environment of the Pokémon that loaned the well its name.

 

The next morning, having recovered from her sudden bout of illness the night before, Olivia had gone to the Slowpoke Well with Silver, looking to capture Pokémon. It was home to more than just Slowpoke, and she had found a Pokémon she wanted to catch. Silver stood back, leaning against a wall and watching as Olivia battled the Pokémon with her Roselia. She overwhelmed it quite quickly and threw a Poké Ball at it, at which point she could only stand by and watch as the ball shook on the ground.

 

 _“Come on…”_ she thought, clenching her fists and teeth. _“I have to get more Pokémon if I’m going to get anywhere!”_

 

The Poké Ball pinged just then, almost as if it was responding to Olivia’s pleas. She didn’t react right away, instead, she simply stared at the now-still sphere, letting what had happened sink in.

 

“I… I actually got another Pokémon…” she uttered, slipping to her knees behind Roselia. Tears briefly welled up in her eyes as she realized that it was the first Pokémon she had captured after finding out the truth about her father. A feeling of confusion came over her, and it didn’t go away even when Roselia tried to hug her leg.

 

“It’s just capturing a Pokémon…” Silver said as he walked up to her. “I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over it.”

 

“Sentimental value!” Olivia shot back. “The Pokémon I caught before this was… I caught it while being driven by something I don’t have anymore. This is really the first time I’ve caught a Pokémon for myself and not for my dad…”

 

“I will never understand the attachment someone like you gets to a father figure,” he harshly stated. “I have no need to be seen as worthy in my father’s eyes, and if you ask me, you should get over it too.”

 

“Shut up! What right have you got to tell me what to do? My dad meant everything to me and now he’s completely gone!”

 

Silver opened his mouth to answer, but didn’t speak a word before he froze. After remaining still for a moment, he sharply lashed his head around, listening for something.

 

“Collect your Pokémon and come here,” he whispered. “I heard something. Someone’s here.”

 

Olivia quickly heeded Silver’s advice, picking up the Poké Ball containing her new Pokémon and returning Roselia to her own. Once she moved up alongside Silver, she quietly asked, “What’s going on?”

 

“I heard someone moving around. Be careful.”

 

Silver stepped out from the wall and took several paces forward, intending to peer down a nearby tunnel to see if he could make anything out. However, as soon as he reached the tunnel, someone came running out and collided with him.

 

“What are you...” Silver froze when he saw who he was looking at – a man wearing a black uniform that bore a red ‘R’ insignia. Almost instantly, his mood turned to pure rage. “You, Proton!”

 

Proton initially reacted with surprise to his encountering Silver, stepping back with a wide-eyed look on his face. He quickly shifted to a more sarcastic tone, however, with his expression changing to a manic grin to match.

 

“Well, well, look who the Meowth dragged in!” Proton chuckled menacingly. “It’s the return of the prodigal son!”

 

“Shut it!” Silver growled, sweeping his arm before himself. “Tell me what he’s got you doing here right now!”

 

“Maybe you should go ask your daddy yourself. I’m sure he’d like to see you!”

 

“Silver, what’s going on?” demanded Olivia. She felt her stomach beginning to turn.

 

“Nothing you need to get involved in,” Silver answered through clenched teeth while arming himself with one of his Poké Balls. “Get out of here. Go find Looker and tell him what’s happening.”

 

Proton shrugged and turned up his hands. He hadn’t immediately noticed Olivia, but her presence barely fazed him. “So sorry, little lady, looks like you just got stuck in the middle of this. Thank Silver for getting you caught in the sights of the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket!”  


Before either Olivia or Silver could react, Proton opened one of his own Poké Balls, releasing a Shuckle. Much like his trainer, the Shuckle wore a crazed, menacing look.

 

“Hold her down, Shuckle! Wrap!”

 

Taking aim squarely at Olivia, Proton’s Shuckle reared back and shot his front legs from his shell like tentacles. Repulsed by the idea of even being touched, she recoiled and started to run, but a huge shape towering over her shielded her from Shuckle’s grasp.

 

“Feraligatr,” Silver shouted over Olivia’s gasp, “Ice Punch!”

 

Using his right arm, Feraligatr delivered a forceful chop strengthened by freezing air to the tentacles wrapped around his left. Shuckle recoiled from the chill and pulled his legs back into his shell.

 

“Tch… giving us a hard time like always, Silver?” Proton spat, his face curling in disgust.

 

“More like beating you and taking you down again!” Quickly turning to look at Olivia over his shoulder, Silver again yelled, “Go! Get out of here and go get Looker!”

 

Olivia wanted to run, but she found her body slow to respond to her mental commands due to her fear in the moment. The only immediate response available to her was to back up slowly and just try to put some distance between herself and the danger.

 

Proton laughed, his sadistic grin returning. “Boy, Silver, aren’t you a hero? Some hero when you don’t even bother telling her how close she really is to us!”

 

“Go!” Silver roared at Olivia, ignoring Proton’s mocking.

 

“O…okay!”

 

Olivia’s mind and body finally clicked together, allowing her to turn and run. As she fled she could hear the crashes and explosions of an unfolding battle behind her, but she could not pay much attention to it. She just knew she had to get away as quickly as possible.

 

-:-

 

 _“The Pokémon World Tournament is soon to begin!”_ the stout, thick-browed man on the Azalea Town Pokémon Center’s television announced. _“ Pokémon Trainers from all around the world are gathering here at the Realgam Tower in Orre, and I, Freddy the Scoop, will be there to bring you all the exciting action!”_

 

The lobby of the Pokémon Center was fairly empty that morning. Azalea Town wasn’t often visited by large amounts of traffic, instead, it was usually the case that only a few trainers at a time would come for their Hive Badges and leave as soon as they got them. Only a small handful of people, including the nurse, were in the lobby while Matt, Looker and Nikolai were there watching television and drinking coffee.

 

 “It makes me happy…” Nikolai mumbled, staring at the screen.

 

“What’s that?”

 

Shifting his gaze sideways to look at Matt, Nikolai answered, “…that Pokémon can bring people together over such distances. I want the world to be a place where people and Pokémon can grow together through their interactions with each other. That’s my ideal formula…”

 

“I can appreciate that. I mean…” Matt noticed Looker staring intensely at the two of them, but didn’t pay it much attention. “…if that kind of thing came to pass, perhaps it would be therapeutic to Olivia’s mind. I’ve noticed that she really opens up when Pokémon are involved.”

 

“So where is Olivia, anyway?” Matt and Nikolai’s conversation was interrupted by Nekou swaggering in, with yet another beer can in her hand despite the early hour. She sipped at it, then continued, “I expected her to be out here with you.”

 

“So you finally woke up, huh?” Matt said with a wry grin. “Don’t worry about her. She felt better after last night, so she went with Silver to the Slowpoke Well to catch a new Pokémon.”

 

“The… Slowpoke Well?” In an instant, the cool, flippant attitude present in Nekou’s expression evaporated, giving way to a hardened, dismayed look. “With Silver?”

 

“Yeah, when she brought up the idea, I didn’t want her to go alone but I did want her to strike out on her own a bit. Looker was the one that suggested Silver go with her.”

 

“But… the Slowpoke Well? What made you think that shit was a good idea?”

 

Matt shrugged. “It’s open to the public, so she’s not going anywhere she shouldn’t. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  
As if on cue, at literally the moment Matt closed his mouth, the Pokémon Center’s doors slid open and Olivia came crashing through.

 

“Matt!” she screamed out, not realizing where her group was yet. “Nekou! Mister Looker!”

 

Nekou immediately pitched her beer can into a nearby garbage pail with great skill, then hurried to Olivia. The three men were left standing behind her, confused and worried about what had upset her.

 

“Olivia, calm down!” Nekou implored her young friend, who collapsed into her arms. “Tell me what happened!”

 

“I… I caught a new Pokémon… but then we ran into him…”

 

“Who is ‘him?’” Matt questioned, not noticing how Nekou shuddered upon Olivia’s revelation.

 

“And Silver, what is the location of his being currently?”

 

“It was a man called Proton, who was wearing a Team Rocket uniform. Silver knew him, I think. He tried to capture me when we ran into him but Silver stayed behind to battle him.”

 

“If the Team Rocket has started some sort of operation of sorts,” Looker pondered while holding his chin, “it is being my duty as an International Police agent elite in rank to stop it!”

 

Stopping only to shoot Nekou a brief, venomous glare, Looker sprinted for the door, leaving Matt, Olivia, Nekou and Nikolai no choice but to leave their coffee behind and follow.

 

Bright, blazing sunlight greeted them as they reached the outdoors, forcing them to try and hastily adjust their vision. Having gotten outside first, Looker got used to the morning sun before any of the others, and ran off to the east while shouting nonsensically about Team Rocket. The others were able to follow him after a brief moment.

 

As soon as the stone entrance to the Slowpoke Well came into view, it became clear that the conflict had escalated. Proton had fled to the surface with Silver in pursuit, and the two were now fighting out in the open. Silver’s Feraligatr had just delivered a finishing blow to Proton’s Shuckle, and having recalled his Pokémon, Proton was starting to flee using a jetpack strapped to his back.

 

Just as his jetpack’s rockets ignited, Proton caught sight of Looker. Shooting the detective a sarcastic grin, he saluted and yelled, “Missed me again, didn’t you?”

 

“Stop! International Police!”

 

“Oh, come the fuck on!” Nekou groaned in exasperation. “You seriously think that he’ll stop for that?”

 

Proton lifted into the air and, without hesitation, turned to Ilex Forest to the west and began to fly off.

 

Silver, however, would have none of it, even as Matt, Looker and the others just watched the Rocket Executive flee. “Feraligatr, shoot him down, right now!” he shouted, pointing at Proton. “Dragon Pulse!”

 

Locking his gaze onto the shrinking figure in the sky, Feraligatr opened his mouth as widely as his large jaw would allow. A cluster of blue light took shape just within, which within seconds fired like a cannon of energy. The attack managed to hit Proton with pinpoint accuracy, and though none of the group could hear him swearing his luck, they were able to see his jetpack fail, sending him falling into the forest.

 

“What are you all waiting for?!” Silver demanded, recalling Feraligatr as soon as his work was done. “Let’s go after him! I’m sure that’s not a problem for any of you, is it?”

 

Silver didn’t wait for an answer to his question. He just turned and ran, his body overflowing with more than enough energy to run all the way across Azalea Town and into Ilex Forest. Matt, Olivia, Looker and Nikolai all followed immediately while Nekou brought up the rear, scowling viciously all the while.

 

-:-

 

In his laboratory, Dr. Zager was frantically entering commands into his computer while Galvantula skittered around in the background, alarmed by the sound of his voice.

 

“Proton? Proton, come in!” Overcome by frustration, Zager slammed his fist down on his desk. “Of all the times to lose communication...”

 

Returning to the thermal imaging of Ilex Forest, the scientist found himself unable to do much more than stare at the readouts it displayed. Since the night before, multiple bursts matching the signature of Meteonite energy had been detected there, but there was something else, another kind of energy flowing through the area that truly put his nerves on edge. He kept watching the time-lapse reading of the forest over and over, searching for an answer he wasn’t sure was there.

 

-:-

 

Even though it was the middle of a clear morning, Ilex Forest was still a gloomy place. The one saving grace that the group had was the availability of a long but clear and distinct path to follow. The relatively small number of travelers that came through the area were still enough to convey the need for a road; without it, the forest would be nearly impossible to pass through.

 

“He’s got to be nearby here,” Silver said. “He didn’t get far into the forest before I shot him down.”

 

“Pardon me for chiming in, but maybe it would help to have a Pokémon search? You have a Gengar, as I recall.”

 

Silver was caught by surprise by Matt’s suggestion, but he thought about it and quickly realized that the idea was a smart one. After removing Gengar’s Poké Ball from his belt, Silver opened it, releasing the ghost. Gengar grinned widely and laughed, happy to be doing something.

 

“Gengar, look through this immediate area for a man wearing a Team Rocket uniform,” the red-haired trainer directed. “If you find him, bring us to him immediately.”

 

Gengar nodded and said his name to confirm that he understood what Silver wanted him to do, then drifted off into the woods. However, Silver let out an angry sigh and sharply turned to his companions.

 

“I could use a little help, you know. I don’t expect it from all of you but I’m sure at least one of you will put in the effort.”

 

“You know, you could just say please,” Olivia muttered, though she did let her Minccino out. Almost immediately, the Normal-type Pokémon fretted about cleaning up some nearby leaves using her tail.

 

“For as rude as he was happening to be behaving in the manner of, Silver does occur to have a point,” Looker commented. “Matt, what Pokémon have you got in possession on your person?”

 

“Right now? I’m carrying Heatran, Sigilyph, Eelektrik, Golurk, Roggenrola and Drilbur.”

 

“A Psychic-type ought to be of use…” Nikolai listlessly said.

 

“And she can fly, too. I agree.” Matt reached into his bag, intending to take out the Poké Ball containing Ayingott, his Sigilyph.

 

Just as he put his hand on it, though, an unexpected interruption broke in. A loudly-screeching horde of Zubat and Hoothoot, numbering about thirteen total, emerged from the trees. The Hoothoot had dull, tired looks in their eyes, and despite having no eyes to share it, the Zubat were carrying themselves in the same agitated manner.

 

“Look at their eyes,” Nekou growled, “or at least the Hoothoot, anyway. And nocturnal Pokémon out in the daytime?”

 

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Matt asked without looking at her.

 

“Yeah, I am. They’re under Meteonite influence, just like all those other Pokémon… like the ones in Union Cave.”

 

“I can feel something influencing their minds…” added Nikolai, standing with his arms spread.

 

Some of the Zubat and Hoothoot took notice of Olivia’s Minccino sitting on the ground before them and became even more angered. Before she even realized what was happening, she found herself being targeted by multiple Air Cutter and Night Shade attacks.

 

“Stop those with Swift!” Olivia quickly commanded.

 

Minccino lashed her tail forward, spraying a wave of stars to shield herself. Most of the white and purple energy waves coming her way were dispelled, but a few still got through. She was only struck by the Air Cutters, though, as she was immune to the Ghost-type Night Shades. Scratched in several places and dirty from the dust kicked up around her, she fled back to the safety of Olivia’s arms.

 

“Minccino, it’s okay…” she whispered to her Pokémon, gently stroking Minccino’s head.

 

“I’ll take care of this. Ayingott, make your mark!”

 

The Sigilyph burst from the Poké Ball she was contained within. Right away, she noticed the injured Minccino in Olivia’s arms and realized the Zubat and Hoothoot were to blame. She confronted the gang by angrily chirping at them, but they were too far gone under the Meteonite’s influence to fully notice.

 

They did, however, perceive Ayingott as a threat. The Hoothoot hung back while the Zubat encircled her, preparing to attack.

 

“Ayingott, that’s nothing to you! Wipe them all out with Psychic!”

 

Much to Matt’s surprise, Ayingott hesitated. She didn’t wait for long, but it was enough that Matt and the others noticed. When she attacked, she used her psychic power to surround all of the Zubat with blue light before tossing them away.

 

“What happened?”

 

Nikolai stepped up alongside Matt, but didn’t look at him, instead covering his eyes with his hat. “I sense that your Sigilyph is unhappy with something. Not you, but… there is something weighing on its mind.”

 

Matt looked back up, struggling to identify in his mind what it was that he had done wrong, only to see that the Zubat had somehow quickly returned to surround Ayingott once again. Meanwhile, Silver had sent out his Alakazam, and the two of them were trying to cut down the Hoothoot with electric bolts Alakazam was launching from the spoons he held.

 

Suddenly, a Swift attack struck some of the Zubat, breaking their formation around Ayingott. Matt turned in surprise to see that Olivia’s Minccino had regained her courage and was rejoining the fight, having climbed out of her trainer’s arms.

 

“Thanks for that, Minccino,” he said, though he was looking at Olivia. “How about we do this together?”

 

“All three of us?” Nekou interrupted, holding a Poké Ball in her hand.

 

“You know what, that’s a good idea,” Matt said with a smile. “Let’s go for it, all of us! Manticore, make your mark!”

 

“Join them, Marie!”

 

Matt’s Roggenrola and Nekou’s Sneasel stepped up alongside Minccino after taking form. Marie looked to Minccino and growled sharply, smiling to encourage her companion. Manticore, however, didn’t wait for Minccino and Marie or even for any orders from Matt. As soon as she saw the swarm of Zubat, she jumped into battle, shooting a stream of four rocks at them. The Zubat scattered but reformed with some speed.

 

“Manticore, I didn’t tell you to use Rock Blast yet!”

 

“Looks like it hasn’t gotten much more obedient since you caught it,” Nekou remarked. “Fine. As always, woman must clean up the mess created by man, huh? Olivia, let’s team up and do this. I want you to use Swift again.”

 

 “Alright,” Olivia answered, nodding. “I trust you. Minccino, do it! Use Swift!”

 

Nekou watched as Minccino followed Olivia’s direction. Once the stars of Swift were in the air, Nekou followed with, “Now, Marie, use Ice Beam on Minccino’s Swift!”

 

While sharply hissing, Marie looked up at Minccino’s Swift attack and fired rays of blue, freezing energy from her claws. The ice surrounded the stars on contact, turning them into sharp-edged weapons that slashed through the Zubat horde. Many of them dropped to the ground, unable to continue after being cut down by the combination, leaving only three severely weakened Zubat still airborne.

 

“Let’s put an end to this all at once! Ayingott, hold them still with Psychic, and Manticore, hit one of them with Rock Blast!”

 

“Marie, take one of them out with Knock Off!”

 

“Minccino, you finish the last one off with Aqua Tail!”

 

The last three Zubat had attempted to attack again by opening their mouths wide, but Ayingott pinned them with her psychic power, rendering them unable to do so. Marie jumped at the trio as soon as they were frozen and smashed the middle Zubat into the earth with her right arm. Manticore followed up by taking aim at one of the others and shooting three rocks at it, and just as Olivia intended, Minccino smacked the last down with her glowing tail.

 

At the same time Matt, Nekou and Olivia were defeating the Zubat, Silver was finishing off the Hoothoot on his own using his Alakazam. The owl Pokémon proved to be little of a challenge to the powerful Psychic-type.

 

“Alakazam… you did well.” Holding up a yellow-and-black Ultra Ball, Silver recalled Alakazam back to its confines. Just as he did so, though, Gengar returned and began pulling on his arm. The ghost Pokémon gestured into the brush, prompting Silver to turn around – only to see a figure rushing through the forest not far away. “There he is! He was hiding right in front of us!”

 

“Silver, be waiting!” Looker’s call was in vain, as Silver, overcome with his wish to capture Proton, dashed off into the bushes to give chase after recalling Gengar. With no other options, Looker turned to the others and said, “We shall make note to meet up at the other end’s exit of the Ilex Forest!” before hurrying off after Silver.

 

“What is going on?” Matt wondered out loud as the detective departed.

 

“Fuck if I know,” Nekou said with a shrug. “But I’d be willing to hazard a guess that it’s Polaris’s fault. Those Zubat and Hoothoot were clearly under the influence of Meteonite energy, but there shouldn’t be any way for that to be possible. There were no meteor strikes in this area.”

 

“Nikolai, what did you mean by Ayingott being unhappy with something?” Matt questioned.

 

“I haven’t pinpointed it just yet… let’s walk with the Pokémon and perhaps I will figure it out.”

 

“I like that idea.”

 

With their plan set, the group continued down the road, walking with Ayingott, Manticore, Minccino and Marie alongside them.

 

They didn’t notice the twelve pairs of small, yellow eyes watching them from the bushes.

 

-:-

 

A large, metallic airship piloted by Colress was flying over the western ocean, heading in the direction of Goldenrod City. He was seated at an expansive control panel within the craft’s cockpit, and while flying it, he was also carrying on a videophone conversation with Getriebe and Jeunes.

 

“Everything’s all in order here,” Jeunes stated, smirking. “Two days from now, we’ll be able to execute the operation just as planned.”

 

“The research has been promising,” Getriebe added. “If my calculations are correct, the Meteonite will work exactly the way we want.”

 

“I’ll be there in plenty of time,” answered Colress. “Nothing will get in our way. Between the power of the Meteonite and the public support Mister Ghetsis’s speeches have been gaining for us, Polaris will reach its objective soon enough. What are you two currently doing?”

 

“We’ve nearly finished scanning our stocks of Pokémon into the Purine Base’s databanks,” Getriebe explained. “Once our indexing is complete, we’ll send the data to the Adenosine Base so you can use it.”

 

-:-

 

“I figured it out,” Nikolai abruptly announced while the group and their Pokémon were continuing down the road in Ilex Forest. “I know what your Sigilyph is distressed by.”

 

“Oh? What is it?”

 

“Your Sigilyph does not like its nickname. It wishes to be given a new one.”

 

“Wait, I don’t understand,” Matt replied, raising an eyebrow. Ayingott didn’t seem to dislike that nickname before.”

 

“I feel it may have been waiting to see on its own if you would change its nickname… now that Sigilyph has decided that you aren’t going to be doing that, it’s beginning to act out.”

 

“I guess that makes sense,” Nekou remarked, walking with her arms crossed behind her head. She then glanced back to Olivia, only to notice that she had her head down. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Olivia sullenly said. “I feel kind of sick again… and I really want to see my mom for some reason. All of a sudden I really miss her.”

 

“We’ll call her when we get to Goldenrod City, okay?” Matt was attempting to reassure Olivia, but in his own mind, he was nervous. Anabel’s poor state when they’d contacted her the day before didn’t give him a good feeling.

 

“Wait, do you hear something?” Nekou suddenly said.

 

Snapping out of his thoughts, Matt focused his hearing, and Olivia focused hers as well. Both of them quickly heard loud voices coming from some place nearby, which evidently was what Nekou was referring to.

 

“I hear it, too...” Nikolai uttered. “Let’s go find out what it is…”

 

Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Nikolai ran further down the road, seeking the source of the voices. They quickly came upon a young boy and girl, both dressed in sky-blue school uniforms and carrying lunchboxes.

 

“Are you two okay?” Matt addressed them.

 

Reacting to his accidentally overaggressive tone, the pair reeled back. “Stop! Don’t take any more of our Pokémon!” the boy cried.

 

“We didn’t take any of your Pokémon to begin with,” Nekou rebuked. “What’s going on here?”

 

“Who are you?” questioned the girl.

 

“Just some traveling trainers, as you seem to be,” Matt answered, gesturing to Ayingott, Manticore, Marie and Minccino. “If I frightened you before, I’m sorry. Please explain to us what happened.”

 

“Our Ivysaur disappeared into Ilex Forest... we were looking for it and now we can’t find our way out anymore!”

 

“Did it run away?” Olivia wondered.

 

“Y-yeah, it did…” The girl sniffed before adding, “but when it ran away, right before it ran away it was struck by a beam of red light.”

 

Matt, Nekou and Olivia all gasped and looked at each other in shock, and though Nikolai’s reaction was far more muted, the surprise in his eyes gave away that he had a similar feeling.

 

“You guys are all thinking what I’m thinking, right?”

 

Nekou closed her eyes in disgust at the answer she had to give to Matt’s question. “No doubting it, it’s a Meteonite strike. But this isn’t like the others, this is fucking deliberate…”

 

“There’s children here!” Matt hissed before softening his tone. “But what do you mean?”

 

“If that’s the worst thing they ever hear, they lived some pretty sheltered lives,” Nekou said with a shrug. “Consider the past Meteonite strikes… the one in Union Cave, I mean. Only Ground-type Pokémon were affected. Meanwhile, today we’ve seen Flying-type Pokémon and now Grass-type Pokémon affected, plus, did you hear what she said? Their Ivysaur was struck by a beam of red light before it ran off. Someone in this forest is using a Meteonite and deliberately controlling certain Pokémon with it.”

 

“What are you talking about, lady?” the girl whimpered. “Who took our Ivysaur? You know, don’t you?”

 

“Not for certain, but… I have a good suspicion about it. Come on, we have a Psychic-type Pokémon, we’ll help you search for it. We’re heading through the forest anyway.”

 

“How do we know we can trust you?” The boy was suddenly growing angry, and he stood glaring up right into Nekou’s eyes. “They’ve been talking about Team Rocket being around here lately. You could be one of them! This could all be your fault!”

 

“If someone from Team Rocket stole your Ivysaur, you would have known it,” Nekou coolly dismissed. “Those guys… they’re way too showy for their own good. They wouldn’t have taken it in the way you described.”

 

“I think… I think you can trust her…” Matt put in. “She’s right, after all. Team Rocket’s members run around in those uniforms with the huge red ‘R’s on them. You didn’t see one of those, did you?” The boy shook his head, prompting Matt to say, “Then please, trust us. Come along, Ayingo…um… I’ll think of a new name for you soon, okay? Let’s just help these kids find their Ivysaur and see if we can’t get down to the bottom of these Meteonite attacks.”

 

“Sigi, sigi,” Ayingott chirped, her cry filled with equal parts enthusiasm and frustration.

 

-:-

 

Elsewhere in the forest, Silver and Looker were still sprinting after Proton, who was unable to shake them despite his best efforts to vanish into the underbrush.

 

“Stop, you piece of scum!” Silver shouted through the trees at his target. “I swore I’d take all of you down, and I’m keeping my word! You won’t escape!”

 

“Be halting! The long arm of the law can manage to work to reach anywhere!”

 

Proton didn’t say anything, but he did glance over his shoulder at his pursuers. He realized that they were slowly closing in on him, meaning he wouldn’t be able to keep running forever.

 

 _“Oh, if ever I’ve needed some luck, now would be a hell of a time for it!”_ he thought to himself.

 

Much to his surprise, however, his wish actually came true. Over a dozen Psybeam attacks suddenly burst from the surrounding bushes, striking the ground all around Silver and Looker. They had to stop their chase as they were surrounded by Venonat, Butterfree and Masquerain. Proton, meanwhile, knew this turn afforded him the chance he needed to escape.

 

“Damn it, we lost him!” Silver growled as soon as he realized he couldn’t see Proton anymore. “We’ll have to track him down all over again... but we can’t do that until we deal with this problem.”

 

“I am finding myself in complete agreement with you, Silver.”

 

Some of the Butterfree and Venonat broke from the horde and moved forward, aiming another round of their multicolored Psybeam attacks at the two humans, who swiftly jumped aside to get out of the way. Silver quickly sent out his Gengar to face them, while Looker brought out his Toxicroak.

 

-:-

 

Far north from the unfolding events in Ilex Forest, another incident was about to take place. Another of Polaris’s airships descended to the ground near the vast autumn forests surrounding Ecruteak City, and after its stairs unfolded, Ghetsis stepped out. The crazed dictator’s cape blew in the gentle wind surrounding him as he set his intense, wicked gaze upon the city before him.

 

“Ah, Ecruteak City…” After looking from the west half of the city, which was urban and developed, to the east, which was still filled by a small number of older, traditional wooden buildings, he closed his eye. “A city of contradictions that proves the sins of the Tenganists… what a fitting place for my ascension to my rightful throne as the King of Harmonia…”

 

After pulling on the button fixing his cape around his neck, Ghetsis turned and walked toward a nearby pagoda, sitting alone at the northern edge of the city against the forest. His cane made a loud tapping noise with every step he took on the stone roads of the city’s traditional half. When he reached the building, he stopped only for a moment to grin to himself before stepping inside. To announce his presence, he simply slammed his cane against the wooden floor.

 

From the halls of the temple, three elderly men dressed in black robes emerged. They all regarded Ghetsis with a mixture of confusion and anger in their eyes.

 

“We are the Wise Trio…” one of them said, stepping forward, “…and I am Masa, the head Sage here. What business have you with us, intruder?”

 

“Now, now, there is no need for such hostility, for I am but a simple sage like you,” Ghetsis answered, smiling disarmingly. “I have simply come to talk about some very important business with you.”

 

“What business would that…”

 

“Master Masa…” one of the other two Sages interrupted.

 

“What is it, Koji?”

 

“I recognize this man…” The fear evident in Koji’s voice grew with each word he spoke. “This is the man who represents Polaris… Ghetsis… Harmonia…”

 

“So my secret’s out, then.” Ghetsis opened his eye again, but never stopped smiling. “I guess it’s time to dispense with the formalities.”

 

His eyes widening, Masa pulled a Poké Ball from his robes. He then gestured to Koji and the third Sage, who did the same. “Koji! Gaku! Prepare to defend Bell Tower! We won’t let him destroy another of our holy sites!”

 

“You foolish Tenganists… Pokémon cannot stop me from reaching my destiny.”

 

Ghetsis banged his cane against the floor again. On cue, the Shadow Triad materialized in front of him with swords in their hands. Before they even knew what was going on, Masa, Koji and Gaku were cut down. The last thing the three Sages ever saw was Darkness, Pestilence and Chaos wiping splashes of blood from their uniforms while Ghetsis towered over them, his face twisted into a sadistic grin.

 

“We’re establishing a base here until the event,” Ghetsis declared. “Darkness, Pestilence, go fetch the prisoners from the transport.”

 

“Sir!”

 

After the pair of Shadows warped away, Ghetsis looked to Chaos and gestured at the fallen Sages with his cane. “You, Chaos, get rid of them. Dead men don’t put up a fight so I know you can handle this.”

 

-:-

 

Much like she had been since arriving in Ilex Forest, Séduire was hiding up in one of the trees. Using the holographic display on her Meteonite cannon, she was observing the movements of Matt and the others as they went through the forest.

 

“Yes, come to me… you’re almost here…” Taking a deep breath,  Séduire shifted her weight on the branch. “I think I’ll give you a gift to welcome you home…”

 

With a flick of her hand, Séduire moved off of her surveillance of Matt and onto a control panel for her weapon itself. She smiled to herself as she programmed a command into its system.

 

A short distance away, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Nikolai were continuing down the road with their Pokémon still out and the brother and sister accompanying them.

 

“Ivysaur!” the boy called out into the depths of the forest. “Where are you?”

 

“Come on, please come back!” his sister shouted in the opposite direction.

 

“Nekou, are you absolutely sure that this is another Meteonite event? This doesn’t feel like the other times.”

 

“I’m certain of it, no fucking doubt,” Nekou mumbled in response to Matt’s questioning. “You’re not taking one thing into consideration. I told you someone’s doing this deliberately. They might be controlling the Pokémon too, and if that’s…”

 

Suddenly, Olivia stumbled and fell against Nekou, leaving Nekou to hold her up. The entire search party stopped its trek through the forest immediately.

 

“Olivia, what’s wrong?” Matt said in alarm.

 

“I don’t… I don’t feel so good…” Olivia tried to push herself off Nekou’s side and onto her own feet, but she felt her body becoming weak.

 

“Don’t worry, Olivia, I’ll hold you up.” Looking to Matt, Nekou scrunched up her face and said, “Find those kids’ Ivysaur so we can get out of here. Olivia’s sick again.”

 

“I would if I had a lead to go on!” Just as he finished speaking, Ayingott taped his shoulder to garner his attention. “Huh? What is it?”

 

“Glyph!” Matt’s Sigilyph screeched, gesturing to the bushes a short distance down the road.

 

“I don’t understand…”

 

“Matt… I think we have company,” Nikolai warned.

 

The entire group turned to where Ayingott had indicated and stared intensely at the brush, awaiting whatever would emerge. Moments later, another group of Pokémon leapt out to attack, their eyes filled with the same tired look all the other Pokémon influenced by the Meteonite possessed. It was a team comprised mainly of several Paras and Carnivine clustered together.

 

However, one of them stuck out, having no other companions like him. In addition to the other Grass-types in the swarm, a single Grass-and-Poison-type Pokémon was present.

 

An Ivysaur.

 

“There’s our Ivysaur!” cried the boy, a look of great relief coming across his face. Without hesitating, he started running towards the group of Pokémon, not realizing what danger he was in.

 

“Stop!” Nekou screamed. “It’s not safe!”

 

Dramatically underlining her point, the Ivysaur, without even briefly hesitating, attacked his trainer by launching a number of sharp-edged leaves at him. He avoided being hit by barely an inch, jumping back in a panic.

 

“Ivysaur, what’s with you?”

 

“Right now, that’s not your Ivysaur,” Nekou coldly said. She tapped the side of her glasses, activating their computerized scanning. “The entire energy flow in this forest is in flux, from the looks of it. That’s why all these Pokémon are acting like this… whoever is behind this has caused a lot of damage with repeated Meteonite blasts.”

 

“Can you make Ivysaur go back to normal?” the girl questioned while shielding her brother.

 

Before she could get an answer, three of the Paras attacked the group with Energy Ball, forcing them to jump to the sides of the road to avoid the glowing, crackling spheres.

 

“We might be able to, but we have to defeat them first. Charlotte, come out and help!”

 

Matt fumbled in his bag for the Poké Ball he wanted, and when he found it, he simply opened it in his hand instead of throwing it. His Eelektrik materialized, floating a few feet off the ground.

 

However, as soon as Charlotte appeared, Manticore turned away from the swarm of Grass-types to face her. The Roggenrola’s memories were stirred by seeing Charlotte. She specifically remembered what had happened the day she was captured on Route 30, when she was outside Mr. Pokémon’s house. It had been Charlotte that Matt used to capture her.

 

Overcome by anger, Manticore charged at Charlotte, striking her midsection with Headbutt.

 

“Manticore, stop it! Charlotte’s your ally now!”

 

Paying little heed to her trainer’s order, Manticore hesitated for only a second before beginning to charge at Charlotte again. Unwilling to take another hit for Manticore’s rage, Charlotte started to generate electricity around herself. Matt managed to head off the conflict by recalling Manticore, just in enough time to make sure Charlotte’s Charge Beam hit only the ground.

 

“Why… did that just…” Olivia weakly said.

 

“Seeing the Pokémon that was used to capture Roggenrola caused it to become enraged,” Nikolai quickly answered. “We do not have time to deliberate on such a thing. These Pokémon… are in much worse condition.”

 

“Manticore wouldn’t be so great against Grass-types anyway,” Matt realized. “Charlotte, I’ll leave this to you!”

 

“Marie, you go too!”

 

“Minccino… do your best…”

 

Much to the surprise of his companions, Nikolai even took out one of his Poké Balls. “I cannot call upon my friends in this forest while the energy here is so off balance… it wouldn’t be safe. At the very least my personal Pokémon can be protected…”

 

With that, Nikolai threw the Poké Ball, releasing his Stantler. The Normal-type Pokémon stood tall next to his comparatively short allies.

 

Unwilling to let the appearance of opposing Pokémon intimidate them, the horde of Grass-types attacked again. Their offense was fractured; while the Paras remained at a distance and used Energy Ball again, the Carnivine opted for a much more direct approach by lashing out with vines from under their leaves. The Ivysaur, meanwhile, erratically shot more sharp leaves at the group.

 

Charlotte, Marie, Minccino and Stantler did their best to dance around the attacks barraging them. Charlotte’s ability to twist through the air served her well in her defense, while Minccino and Marie danced around on the ground, Marie with much more skill than her lesser-trained friend. Stantler, on the other hand, didn’t have as much mobility and ended up getting knocked down by one of the Carnivine with Vine Whip, but he recovered quickly.

 

“It pains me to say but… the only way to stop these Pokémon is to defeat them.”

 

“Nikolai, wait, I have an idea. You said you could protect your Stantler because it was your personal Pokémon… is that because you can recall it?”

 

Nikolai’s eyes widened at Nekou’s suggestion. “Why did I not think of that earlier?” Turning to the children, Nikolai quickly said to them, “Hurry, try to recall your Ivysaur!”

 

“I hope it works,” the sister said, taking out a Poké Ball of her own. “Ivysaur, return!”

 

A beam of red light shot out of the core of the Poké Ball when the girl pointed it at Ivysaur. However, the seemingly simple plan had one major problem – Ivysaur didn’t want to be recalled, and jumped back out of the way to avoid the beam that would bring him back.

 

“We’re going to have to hold it down,” Matt quickly decided. “Charlotte, Thunder Wave!”

 

Still twisting her body through the air, Charlotte turned toward the Ivysaur and released a weak pulse of electricity from her body. After getting hit by it, Ivysaur became still as the electricity paralyzed his muscles.

 

“Quickly! Do it now!”

 

“Ivysaur, return!”

 

This time, the girl had the fortune she and her brother needed. With Ivysaur held down by the paralysis, she was able to recall him safely into his Poké Ball.

 

“Ivysaur…” her brother sighed in relief.

 

“But how do we make him get better?”

 

Four Paras decided to break from the horde and rushed the group, their claws drawn back in preparation for a series of X-Scissor attacks. Matt pulled the young siblings aside and stood in front of them, while Nekou and Olivia hid behind Nikolai’s Stantler. As for Nikolai himself, he simply ducked into a nearby bush to avoid them.

 

“Come with us,” Matt said to the siblings. “We’re going to the Pokémon Center in Goldenrod City, if we ever get out of this. You can get Ivysaur help there.”

 

“I don’t get it,” Nikolai coughed as he stumbled from the bush. “Why are their attacks so erratic?”

 

“They aren’t in their right minds,” Nekou sharply replied. “Whoever is manipulating them with the Meteonite is causing them to go insane. Either way, though, I’ve had just about enough of this. Marie, do whatever’s necessary! Fuck them up!”

 

“If you can… Minccino…”

 

Together, Marie and Minccino leapt at the horde of Grass-types. True to her nature, Marie took the initiative to attack first, showering the entire crowd with her Ice Beam. With many of the Pokémon stunned, Minccino swept in and cut through the group with Tail Slap, rattling the heads of whatever she could reach even further.

 

“Matt… your Sigilyph knows Psychic.” When Matt nodded, Nikolai continued, “Hold the Pokémon together with it. I don’t like having to do this, but it can’t be helped.”

 

“Alright. Aying…well… I guess we’ll figure out your name, but for now… Sigilyph, Psychic! Cluster them together!”

 

Encouraged by Matt’s willingness to acknowledge her concerns, Ayingott focused on the horde of Pokémon. All three of her eyes began to glow with blue light, which then surrounded the Paras and Carnivine as they were forced together by her power.

 

“With them held together like that… this ought to affect them all. Stantler, use Stomp!”

 

Stantler ran a short distance to build up speed, then leapt into the air and came crashing down onto the cluster. Nikolai’s theory was right; though Stantler had directly hit a Carnivine, the shock from the blow radiated through the entire group.

 

“Let’s put an end to this, Charlotte. Acid Spray!”

 

Locking her gaze onto the writhing cluster of Pokémon, Charlotte choked up a large ball of green poison. When it made impact on its target, it exploded, scattering the Pokémon around the area. The combined strength of all the attacks was enough to cause the Pokémon to faint.

 

Just as Matt and the others breathed sighs of relief, though, a whole new problem erupted. The dozen pairs of yellow eyes, which had been watching them the entire time they were in the forest, finally revealed themselves as twelve Pawniard rushed from the growth, followed by a single Bisharp.

 

“What now?!” Matt shouted.

 

As the Pawniard surrounded the group in a circular formation, Nekou saw that one of the Pawniard closest to the Bisharp had scratches on its head and immediately realized what was happening.

 

“Fuck, they’ve been following us ever since Route 29, haven’t they?” she growled while rolling her eyes.

 

“The same ones from before?” Matt said, shaking his head. “I should have realized it. But what do they want now? Last time we were disturbing them and they were under… wait, are they being controlled by the Meteonite again?”

 

“No…” Nikolai interjected. “I can feel the Bisharp’s wishes… it wants to fight with you again. One on one. This is its sincere desire, not the influence of some outside power.”

 

“Uh… okay, I guess… can you tell it I don’t have my Seismitoad on me right now? If it wants a rematch it might want to fight the same opponent again.”

 

“Bisharp! Bisha sharp!” the Steel-and-Dark-type Pokémon immediately said in response, having heard what Matt had said.

 

Nikolai chuckled gently and smiled as he turned to Matt. “It says it doesn’t care.”

 

“Well then, that’s certainly a change in attitude from the last time we met, isn’t it?”

 

-:-

 

Having escaped from his pursuers, Proton was able to once again establish contact with Dr. Zager, though only through audio. The scientist was rapidly typing into his computer while speaking to his subordinate, the reason being that emergency messages were popping up continually on his screens.

 

“Dr. Zager, tell me what’s happening!” Proton shouted over the transmission. “I can’t do anything here if I don’t know what I’m dealing with!”

 

“Proton, listen to me and listen well. That temporal distortion is unstable and increasing. Get back in there, find out if a Time Gate is opening, and do whatever you can to bring it under Team Rocket’s control! We cannot risk Polaris capturing such a potent energy!”

 

-:-

 

“Ugh…”

 

Matt didn’t have a chance to choose a Pokémon for his rematch with the Bisharp before he heard Olivia groaning behind him. He turned around just in time to see her collapse to the ground, clutching her stomach.

 

“Olivia, are you alright?” Nekou said, rushing to her side. “What’s wrong now?”

 

“It hurts…” Olivia whimpered, “It really hurts!”

 

“There’s something very, very wrong with her…” Above everything but his worry for Olivia, Matt felt powerless. He wanted to do something to help her, but with no idea what was wrong, there was nothing he could do. The feeling of helplessness made his entire body shake. “Clearly, we’re in the middle of something very bad… we have to get out of this forest right now, no more delays.”

 

Realizing that Matt was intending to leave without fighting her, the Bisharp started screaming and waving her arms, but he wasn’t going to change his mind, instead helping to hoist Olivia’s increasingly limp body onto Nekou’s back. Bisharp fired a wave of electricity into the ground as an attempt to get their attention, but Matt had no intention of wasting any further time.

 

“Look, Bisharp, I’m sorry! Believe me, I would fight with you to your heart’s content, but I just have more important things to do!” A realization flashed through his mind. “If something happened to one of your Pawniard, wouldn’t you want to take care of them?”

 

Matt’s question cut deeply into Bisharp, and she took a step back. She understood his words and was forced to realize that he was right.

 

Suddenly, Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Nikolai and the siblings could hear the bushes rustling behind them. They all turned just in time to see Looker and Silver emerge onto the road.

 

“What happened to you two?” Matt questioned.

 

“Escaped, that Executive of the Team Rocket managed to achieve.”

 

“Once we lost sight of him, Looker said to find you four again.” Turning up his nose, Silver said, “What the hell is going on here?”

 

“Some old friends of ours,” Nekou sarcastically replied, “but we don’t have time to play with them right now. Olivia’s getting really sick.”

 

“Then we must be beating haste to the Pokémon Center within the heart of Goldenrod City!”

 

When Matt and the others turned around, they saw Bisharp wave her arm at her army of Pawniard. Her shrill cry was an order to them, and in complete obedience, they broke from their circular formation and lined the road, intending to let Matt’s group past.

 

However, there was one individual present who had other ideas.

 

“The International Police…” Séduire growled to herself from her hiding place in the trees. “I won’t be letting them get in my way of what I want!” Picking up her cannon, she opened the command window and scrolled until she reached the targeting program. A crosshairs formed on the holographic projection window, and she took aim at the back of Bisharp’s head. “Target locked, and… fire!”

 

Electricity cracked from all over the small Meteonite in the weapon after Séduire pulled the trigger. A bright beam of red light shot from the cannon, and when it hit Bisharp, she started to convulse.

 

“The fuck is that?!” Nekou exclaimed in surprise, though that shock faded when she looked at the readings on her glasses. “Wait… the Meteonite’s energy? Whoever’s behind this is right here!”

 

“Yes, that’s the same beam that got Ivysaur!” said the young boy.

 

When the ray of light faded, Bisharp stopped convulsing and looked up to the group. Her eyes were tired and blank just like all the other Pokémon when they were affected by the Meteonite’s power.

 

“Looks like you’re getting your fight after all,” Nekou whispered to Matt.

 

“You’re right,” he said back, reaching into his bag. “We have to put a stop to this once and for all. That Meteonite has done nothing but cause trouble.”

 

Much to the surprise of Matt, Nekou and the others, Bisharp didn’t attack. She merely stood still for several seconds, then turned and started to run off down the road to the north while out of the group’s sight, Séduire was rushing in the same direction.

 

“Come on, let’s chase it!”

 

“Nekou’s right,” Nikolai concurred. He took out a Poké Ball and recalled Stantler into it. “We must free that Bisharp. Recall all of your Pokémon so they are not at risk.”

 

“Good thinking.”

 

Matt recalled Ayingott and Charlotte, then Nekou did the same with Marie. From her position on Nekou’s back, Olivia weakly raised her arm and sent Minccino back as well. With all of the Pokémon recalled to their Poké Balls, the group set off in pursuit of Bisharp. The Pawniard army tagged along, willing to do anything to free their leader.

 

None of the group knew what they would find when they caught up with Bisharp, but any worry they had for that impending discovery was pushed aside by a simple sense of urgency. Bisharp was heading in the direction of the forest’s exit, so following her would bring them closer to Goldenrod City and thus closer to getting Olivia the help she needed.

 

No amount of mental preparation would have been sufficient for what they found in the next clearing, however. A large, glowing, amorphous cluster of energy was writhing around in midair, seemingly increasing in size in small bits. Standing before it, side by side, were the brainwashed Bisharp and a young woman wearing a colorful uniform and holding a hand cannon.

 

“Who are you?” Matt gasped, stopping abruptly as he came into the clearing. “And what is that?” he said as he stared up at the energy.

 

“Can’t say I know what this is,” Séduire whispered, gradually turning her head in shaky motions to look over her shoulder, “but I know who I am, and I know who you are. It’s so good to finally see you again, Matt…” She licked her lips, then wiped a small bead of saliva from her mouth. Her excitement over finally seeing Matt was so strong that she felt she would explode.

 

“Wait, that voice…” Within moments, all the color in Matt’s face had drained away. He knew exactly who it was underneath the Entei mask adorning Séduire’s face.

 

“A mask… you’re one of Polaris’s Chromosomes of the Sacred Helix, aren’t you?” Taking Séduire’s insane grin as a confirmation of her suspicion, Nekou continued, “And that weapon… there’s a Meteonite in there, isn’t there? You’re the one who’s been terrorizing this forest!”

 

“Right and right. The name ugly whores like you are allowed to use for me is Séduire, the Fifth Chromosome.” Twisting her head back in Matt’s direction, Séduire grinned even more widely. “But I’m sure Matt knows my real name. He’s allowed to call me it. I want to hear it right now.”

 

“Matt, who is…who is she?” Olivia whimpered.

 

“Be quiet!” Séduire screamed. “You took him from me too! He’s mine and mine alone! Now say my real name!!”

 

Matt was paralyzed by what he saw before him. He did know the name of the person behind Séduire’s mask, but he was so horrified by even having to consider it that he was frozen into still silence.

 

“Psycho ex-girlfriend or something?” Nekou sighed. “I don’t even care that she called me a whore, because she’s so obviously compensating…”

 

“Shut up! I told you to all shut up! You’re nothing but trash! Matt, tell them who I am! Tell them about all the good times we had together! Tell them about how I’m a part of you that you can’t live without!”

 

“You… you have no idea,” Matt mumbled back to Nekou.

 

“Hold it right there, Séduire!” a voice shouted from above the trees.

 

All of the assembled people and Pokémon looked up to see Proton descending into the clearing used his repaired jetpack. As soon as he landed, he gazed intensely and scornfully at Séduire. He knew he had to defeat her and that now was his best chance to do so.

 

“So the gang’s all here, huh?” Séduire complained, looking from Matt’s mostly confused group to Proton and back. “Not that they weren’t already, but if you crooks are going to attack me, do it out in the open.”

 

“Still your tongue, girl,” Proton scolded her. He turned to Nekou, then the others, then finally explained, “This energy is the formation of a Time Gate, which, as the name says, is a gateway that will allow traveling through time. This energy is so powerful that…” He shifted his gaze back to Séduire before finishing, “…I cannot allow Polaris to capture it!”

 

“Then I will take it for Polaris’s goals, as long as you Rockets don’t get it! In the name of Polaris, Father… and the love between Matt Chiaki and me… I will take it! Go, Bisharp!”

 

Quickly reopening the control menu for her weapon, Séduire issued Bisharp forth to fight for her. Proton responded without a word, instead choosing to simply throw a Poké Ball from which a Weezing emerged.

 

“Well? So what’s it going to be?” Proton taunted. He spread his arms wide and shouted, “I’m right here, wide open! Bring it on!”

 

“You think I’m just going to let you trick me like that…?” Séduire was nearly convulsing because of the intense anger she felt. “If I fight you head-on, that’s what you want… so I’ll open another front!”

 

Séduire lashed around to face Matt’s group and entered a command into her weapon, sending Bisharp mindlessly toward them.

 

Nekou scowled as she watched the controlled Pokémon rushing in her direction. With Olivia on her back, her mobility was reduced, so reaching for her Poké Balls was difficult. While she was attempting to figure out a solution, however, she was cut off when Matt stepped in front of her, clutching a Dusk Ball in his hand.

 

“I’m putting a stop to this right now…Tanya, Earth Power!”

 

In a flash, Matt’s Heatran emerged from the ball she resided in. Her massive body was large enough to block the entire group from Bisharp’s attack. Such defense wasn’t necessary, however, as she made the ground beneath Bisharp’s feet burst open from overflowing energy.

 

“Matt, you’re being very bad right now,” Séduire growled as Bisharp was pushed back toward her. “Stop acting out. This isn’t you.”

 

“But you’re acting like yourself, just like always…” Having gotten Séduire sufficiently distracted, Matt thrust his hand forward. “Go, now! Disable that device she has!”

 

The army of Pawniard responded with a flurry of cries, leaping toward their target by using Matt’s shoulders and Tanya’s back as springboards. They all had their blades drawn, and before Séduire could react, she found herself set upon by them.

 

“Aah! Get off!”

 

Desperate to throw off the small Pokémon that were nicking her all over her body, Séduire thrashed around, but in the course of doing so, several Pawniard managed to cut some exposed cables on her weapon. Instantly, it powered down, causing Bisharp to return to normal, with the blank look vanishing from her eyes. The Pawniard, upon seeing their leader freed, retreated from attacking Séduire to support her.

 

“You think this is over?” Séduire roared. “I’m not done with you yet!”

 

“You really have to give this up, please,” Matt plead with her, his eye changing from a look of anger to one of genuine concern. “Even if you’re calling yourself Séduire or whatever now, and you’re mixed up in whatever it is that Polaris is doing, none of that is changing who you are or making me change my mind about you. Look around you. What was terrorizing this forest today supposed to achieve, exactly?”

 

Behind her mask, Séduire’s eyes were boiling with frustration and anger. With every passing second, her goals, which Matt had accurately stated, were becoming more and more out of reach. She had one option left, and when she picked up the one Ultra Ball in her possession, she decided to take it.

 

“Pyroar, go!”

 

A Pokémon unlike any Matt had ever seen before took shape when the ball opened. The Pyroar was a black-and-brown-bodied lion with a great mane of red and yellow surrounding his head. He stood proudly before his trainer, unafraid of even the Heatran opposing him.

 

“The fuck?!” Nekou exclaimed.

 

“A Pokémon from the region called by the name of Kalos,” Looker revealed. “Unknown to this country as of this day.”

 

“Are we really going to do this?” Matt sadly said. “You know I have to stand against you if you choose this.”

 

“No, you just need to be reminded of where you belong.” As she spoke, Séduire twisted her head sideways, falling ever deeper into her delusion. “Pyroar, Hyper Voice!”

 

Matt, Nekou, Nikolai, Looker, Silver, Proton and the siblings could only cringe as Séduire’s Pokémon opened his mouth and roared as loudly as he could. Weezing didn’t like the noise either, but Tanya, the Pawniard and Bisharp were able to shake its influence.

 

Even with how successful her first assault was, it wasn’t enough to satisfy Séduire’s bloodlust. Locking her gaze onto Nekou and Olivia, she said in a completely broken voice, “It’s you. It’s your fault. You took him… so the first step is getting rid of you! Pyroar, jump up and hit those two with Flamethrower!”

 

Pyroar’s movements were so quick that he was already in the air before Matt could react. He realized that Tanya wouldn’t be able to stop an airborne enemy, and was overcome with a feeling of helplessness. “Stop this right now, Cassy!”

 

Nikolai and Silver got ready to send out Pokémon to protect Olivia and Nekou, but they were too slow, as was Proton’s Weezing, who tried to hit Pyroar with Thunderbolt but failed to do so before a jet of fire was bearing down on them.

 

“Fuck this!” Nekou snarled before stumbling aside, just barely avoiding getting engulfed by Pyroar’s flames. She ended up falling backward to the ground, but Olivia escaped injury. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

 

All of a sudden, Olivia screamed and pushed herself off of Nekou’s back. Everyone in the clearing turned to stare at her as she stepped backward.

 

Her eyes were filled with glowing light, and her body was moving in erratic, jerking motions.

 

“Olivia, what’s happening? What is this?!”

 

“It hurts really bad… Nekou, Matt… someone… help me…”

 

“I’m not standing around anymore,” Matt resolved. He ran toward Olivia, reaching in his bag for a Revival Herb, which was about the only thing he could think of to try and cure her illness. However, it was all in vain, for as soon as he drew near to her, an invisible force repelled him.

 

“What?” he gasped from where he had fallen onto the ground.

 

“We must do something!” Nikolai shouted.

 

“But what?” Looker replied.

 

Olivia suddenly screamed again as her body twisted to force her gaze skyward. The light glowed from not only her eyes but her entire body, and it caused the energy of the nearby Time Gate to warp and distort. Right before the eyes of everyone who had gathered around it, the Time Gate collapsed and its energy flowed into Olivia’s body. Her bloodcurdling scream continued until every trace of the Time Gate was gone, at which point she instantly fainted and collapsed to the ground.

 

“What just happened?” Silver wondered, dumbfounded.

 

Both Matt and Nekou ran to Olivia while shouting her name in a futile attempt to wake her up. Nekou picked her up once she could, and Matt put his hand on her neck.

 

“Good, she’s alive,” he said after feeling her pulse. “Come on, Olivia, wake up…”

 

“This isn’t something we can fix on our own,” Nekou asserted, her heart pounding in her chest. “We have to go, now.”

 

“You’re right. Olivia, please be okay…”

 

Nearby, all Séduire could do was watch in increasing jealous anger as Matt cared for Olivia with Nekou’s help. She didn’t even notice Proton preparing to escape again.

 

“Well, that Time Gate’s gone, so I have to be taking my leave now. Until we meet again, sayonara!”

 

Proton lifted off into the sky with his jetpack and disappeared. Unwilling to let him get away, Silver shouted to the sky and then sprinted off down the road, with Looker following once again.

 

“I won’t lose what’s rightfully mine…” Séduire suddenly blurted out, even as she recalled Pyroar. “I won’t, I won’t, I won’t… Matt, you said my name… why won’t you just accept that you belong with me and not with those fake whores?”

 

“You stop that right now,” Matt scolded her. “Say what you will about me, but they’re not fair game for your jealousy.”

 

“Yeah,” Nekou chimed in, “and call me a whore if you want, but Olivia didn’t do anything to you. She’s just a kid.”

 

“You refuse to see what I’m trying to tell you, Matt…” Séduire abruptly reached up and tore off her mask, revealing her youthful face and fiery red eyes that matched her hair. “Look at my face! Look at the one you belong to, me, Cassy Natsuka! Realize your mistake! You must!”

 

The fear was gone from Matt’s mind, replaced by a crushing sense of simple disappointment and dismay. “I already told you… I don’t like you. None of what you’ve done is going to earn favor with me.”

 

“But what about all those years we spent together?!” Cassy screamed. “Do those mean nothing?”

 

“It may have taken me a while, but I finally realized that you were just controlling me for your own desires… I wasn’t anything to you besides someone to control.”

 

“And what do those two give you that I didn’t?” Cassy demanded while gesturing to Nekou and Olivia.

 

Matt sighed, realizing how futile his efforts to get through to Cassy were. “Olivia is an innocent girl, keep her out of this! And Nekou? Well… I just have fun traveling around with her! That’s right, it’s fun! With you keeping me under your thumb all the time I couldn’t have any fun back then!”

 

As soon as Matt said that, the color drained from Cassy’s face and her eyes were covered by a blank, glazed-over look. “Is that so,” she said with an unnerving calm. “I’ll just have to fix that, then… I’ll rip them apart, limb from limb!”

 

Having descended into complete madness, Cassy turned and started running toward Nekou and Olivia. Nekou seemed unfazed by this, however; she simply put Olivia gently down on the ground and then stood to face the threat.

 

“Really?” she muttered. “You’re easy.”

 

Cassy didn’t even see Nekou flick her wrist to produce her switchblade, nor did she even realize Nekou had it until she was already falling with a gash cut into her left leg. She looked back at the subject of her jealous hate and silently swore at her.

 

“Nekou!” Matt screamed. “Why did you… did you mortally wound her?”

 

“I just cut her leg in self-defense,” Nekou answered. “She attacked me. It’s a minor wound, anyway. Come on, we have to go.”

 

“But can we leave her here?”

 

“She’s right on the main road, and the injury isn’t that serious. She’ll be fine. We have to get Olivia help right now, though, because she’s in much worse shape.”

 

Nekou nodded to Nikolai and the siblings, and they gave their wordless assent to her plan. Matt was reluctant, looking back and forth to Cassy several times, but finally accepted that Nekou was right as well. Together, they all headed down the road once again.

 

Cassy, meanwhile, was sobbing hysterically on the ground. She wrested a phone from her uniform and dialed a short number into it.

 

-:-

 

A short time later, Matt, Nekou, Nikolai and the siblings encountered Looker and Silver once again. The detective and his partner had lost track of Proton completely, so they went to the exit of the forest, where the two groups merged. They then boarded a train at the edge of Goldenrod City that would take them to the Pokémon Center in the central area of the city.

 

The seats on the train were arranged into rows facing each other. Matt and Nekou were right next to the window in their row and facing each other, while Nekou had the still soundly-sleeping Olivia in her lap. Nikolai, Silver, Looker and the siblings were beside them.

 

“Look at that,” Matt remarked as he peered out the window to the Goldenrod slums below. “I don’t remember Goldenrod City looking like this the last time I was here.”

 

“There’s been significant urban sprawl,” Nekou answered. “It’s pretty damn gross if you ask me. The poorer residents have been forced to live in those slums while the wealthy live high on the fucking hog in the central area. Nobody even knows those people are there, with how little they get talked about… but on the other hand, a lot of the residents of central Goldenrod aren’t bad people, either, they’re just trying to survive. The city has a lot of spirit. It’s just a very small minority ruining everything for everyone else.”

 

-:-

 

A red-and-white ambulance had entered Ilex Forest and was driving to Cassy’s location after she called for it. Two thin men sat in its cab.

 

“This is the last call for our shift today,” the driver said to his companion. “A stabbing.”

 

“Alright, that ought to be simple enough. I’m looking forward to going home. Haven’t had a lot of time with the wife lately, what with all the fights breaking out in the slums.”

 

“Yeah, it’s been ugly. You see our victim yet?”

 

“Um…” spotting Cassy in front of the vehicle, the assistant pointed out through the windshield. “There! There she is!”

 

Before they could even get out of the ambulance, a sudden lightning strike hit the truck, causing it to explode. Cassy could only watch in horror as her help vanished into the flames.

 

But then she heard footsteps approaching her. Her heart stopped due to her overwhelming nervousness – she’d just seen the ambulance explode in such a way that nobody could have survived, so she had no idea who the one approaching her could be.

 

“Hello, Séduire.”

 

Cassy rolled over and looked up in shock. Standing over her was a tall, lithe man in a tight black bodysuit accessorized with a Sigilyph mask. It was the Tenth Chromosome, Geminus.

 

“You… you did that…” Cassy gestured to the burning ambulance, “didn’t you?”

 

“Yeah. See, we couldn’t have you going to the police and spilling our secrets, you know? But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. I was watching you all this time.”

 

“Please, do it,” Cassy begged, resigning herself to her fate. “I failed completely, I couldn’t even get back what is mine… put me out of my misery.”

 

“Why would I do that when I can give you everything you want? You can have the world you desire. All you have to do is believe in me.”

 

“Why should I trust you? I don’t even know who you are.”

 

“Yes you do.”

 

With that, Geminus lifted the front of his mask, revealing his face to Cassy. She went white as a sheet from the utter disbelief and shock she felt.

 

“Yes, Séduire, just believe in me like you want to. I will make the world we deserve.”

 

“…yes, you’re right…” she uttered, completely mentally broken.

 

-:-

 

That night, Matt, Nekou and Olivia had a room in the Pokémon Center in central Goldenrod. Unlike many other Pokémon Centers, the one they were staying at was a huge building, more like a hotel than the simple inns the others resembled, so their room was quite spacious.

 

Matt was sound asleep, as was Olivia, who had recovered from her illness by the time they reached their destination despite still being overwhelmingly tired. Nekou, on the other hand, had other plans.

 

Once confident she wouldn’t be noticed, she carefully climbed out of her bed and threw her uniform over her shoulders. She didn’t even stop to button it up, as she didn’t care that her nightgown was visible underneath.

 

Quietly going to the door with a can of beer in her hand, she slipped out into the empty hallway. As she walked down the hall she opened the can and drank it. Within a minute she reached a row of phone booths and furtively entered one.

 

She then picked up the phone, crushed the empty can and tossed it into the nearby pail, and dialed a number.

 

“Unique password: Sneasel claw,” she said into the phone once it was picked up. “I’ve finally arrived in Goldenrod City. My investigations of Polaris’s plans have been going well. Yes, I’ll be able to attend the meeting tomorrow. Yes, I know, one more day until their protest. We will have to be very careful.”

 

-:-

 

“Oh man, that whole thing in Ilex Forest was insane!” Proton complained.

 

The green-haired Executive had fled to Goldenrod City and reached the Team Rocket operating base. The other members were still there awaiting orders, while Giovanni sat at the window, petting Persian.

 

“Dr. Zager told us some of what happened,” Ariana said, facing Proton. “You can’t be blamed for your failure to capture the Time Gate. It wasn’t a central mission anyway. Just as long as Polaris does not have it.”

 

“They don’t, don’t worry about it.”

 

“Giovanni,” Rosalie interrupted from her position at the computer bank, “I have news.”

 

“Proceed.”

 

“It has just turned over past midnight. Only one day remains until Polaris’s big event.”

 

“Ah yes, thank you.” Giovanni did not turn around as he spoke. He instead kept staring at Goldenrod City’s nighttime skyline from his vantage point. “Team Rocket’s forces are finally assembled. Our operation will also now get underway.”

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 12**

 

 


	13. Sweet Little Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After speaking to Jacob Alexison, Matt goes to the Battle Factory while Olivia goes to Goldenrod City’s Gym. However, unbeknownst to them, startling events begin to unfold in the background, bringing to light a series of horrifying truths that set the stage for Polaris’s actions in Goldenrod City.

This is probably going to be a pretty long chapter, but on the other hand, there really isn’t anything to warn for, aside from major XY spoilers. Get ready for this one…

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 13:** Sweet Little Lies

 

-:-

 

Goldenrod City took on a completely different appearance when under the sun’s warm glow.

 

At night, it was a neon-laced metropolis, glowing so brightly that it could be seen from space. While the central part of the city retained its glory during the day, sunlight showed the uncomfortable truth of the slums surrounding it much more than the night did.

 

Matt, Nekou and Olivia, much like most of the other trainers and travelers who visited Goldenrod, were nestled away far from the concerns of the city’s poorer section. The gigantic Pokémon Center was right at the heart of the city, cradled by its many distractions, which spread out in all directions.

 

Inside the building, the three were just entering the vast lobby after coming down from the floor where their room was. Many others were milling about the space, engaging in a wide range of activities from eating and watching television to playing with their Pokémon.

 

“Feels like forever since I’ve gotten a rest that refreshing,” Matt said while yawning and stretching his arms. “I think I might actually miss that room when we leave here.”

 

“Was your bed as comfortable as mine was?” Olivia asked, though it was unclear if she was directing it at Matt or Nekou. “Taking a shower and getting my hair cleaned out felt good enough, but then getting to sleep on that? I’d do it again and again.”

 

“Olivia…” Matt said, becoming serious. “Are you feeling okay?”

 

“I got a good sleep and I feel completely better. Why would you think anything else?”

 

“Well…” Matt looked up at Nekou, who was looking back at him. Both of them had great concern in their eyes, but what he got from her was feeling that he shouldn’t push the subject. “Yeah, I guess the beds were comfortable,” he said, resigning himself to not pursuing his worries.

 

“I know mine was.” Nekou assumed that Olivia was talking to her. “Plus, I can drink as much as I want in there and get away with it.”

 

Matt sighed, though it was due to a mixture of frustration and amusement instead of just frustration. “What’s different about that room? You drink all you want everywhere you go.”

 

“You wouldn’t know about drinking in small spaces.” Much to Matt’s surprise, Nekou was actually taking his question, which was intended as a tease, seriously. “Get drunk in small areas and things can get weird. Believe me when I say that you want space if you’re getting fucking bombed.”

 

“I guess I’ll cede to the master on that subject, then.”

 

Just then, Matt glanced over toward the bank of videophones against one of the walls and did a double-take. There weren’t many people there, but he swore he recognized one of the few that was.

 

“Hey, isn’t that…”

 

Nekou stopped walking, albeit only because Matt stuck his arm out to stop her. “What now?” She saw him silently pointing in the direction of the phones, so she followed his direction and looked in that direction as well. Almost immediately, she saw exactly who he was talking about. “Yeah, that’s her.”

 

“I thought so.” Matt started walking toward the videophone area, but before long he broke into a stride. “Bunny!”

 

Immediately upon hearing Matt’s voice, Bunny turned from her call. Her eyes lit up when she saw her three friends. “Matt! Come on over! Bring Nekou and Olivia too!”

 

Matt reached Bunny first. While Nekou and Olivia caught up to him, he asked her, “How have you been? How’d the Ruins of Alph go?”

 

“Oh, it’s been an adventure, to say the least,” Bunny laughed while rolling her eyes.

 

“Is that a familiar voice I hear?” the person who Bunny had been talking to said through the videophone.

 

Bunny shifted aside slightly, allowing Matt to see who she had been talking to. It turned out to be Professor Juniper, and judging from the room behind her, Matt realized that she was still at Professor Elm’s lab.

 

“Well, hello, Professor.”

 

“You guys all doing okay out there?” Juniper asked. “It’s been pretty rough in Johto lately. Is Olivia with you?”

 

“I’m right here!” Olivia piped up as she jostled into the picture.

 

“How’s Oshawott?”

 

“We’re getting along a lot better,” Olivia said, showing a wide, cheerful smile. “He even evolved into Dewott!”

 

Upon hearing this news, Juniper smiled as well. “Well done, Olivia! I’m quite proud of you!”

 

“Bunny, I’m sorry we interrupted your call,” Matt said. “You can get back to it now.”

 

“No, actually, I think I want you to hear this.” When her statement was met by three confused looks, Bunny elaborated, “I was just telling Professor Juniper that I caught a Pokémon that should have never been in this country, even now.”

 

“Let me guess, a Kalos Pokémon?”

 

“How did you know?” Bunny gasped.

 

Nekou shrugged. “We ran into one of Polaris’s members in Ilex Forest, and she used a Pyroar against us. Did you catch one too?”

 

“No, not Pyroar. Let me show you.” Bunny took out a Poké Ball and opened it, releasing a tall, stout-bodied creature. He had grass-like fur in different shades of green covering much of his body, as well as four strong hooves and a pair of long, dramatically curved horns. “This Pokémon is called Gogoat.”

 

“Yes, you’re right about that,” Juniper commented, drawing the attention of the four. “Gogoat is a Pokémon from the nation of Kalos, as we already established. They’re very useful, as they can be ridden and have a sort of empathic power in their horns. But the thing is, Kalos Pokémon weren’t included in the government’s migration program. All I was ever aware of was the migration of Unova Pokémon.”

 

“Well somebody must be bringing them here,” Nekou sharply remarked.

 

“I agree,” Juniper concurred with a nod. “But the question is who. I’ll keep trying to find out what I can, but for now, I can help you a little. Olivia, would you plug your Pokédex into the external port on the videophone?”

 

Olivia took out the Pokémon, but fumbled around with it as she looked for the place to connect it to the phone. “Where?”

 

“There’s a small opening on the bottom that has the connector inside of it.”

 

“Oh, here it is.” Olivia found what she was looking for moments after Juniper described its location, and after opening it up, she plugged the connector into a port just beneath the videophone’s screen. “What’s this for, exactly?”

 

“I’m updating your Pokédex, Olivia,” Juniper cheerfully explained. “Previously, it didn’t contain any data on Pokémon from Kalos, but with this upgrade, scanning a Kalos Pokémon will work like scanning any other Pokémon. I want you to keep using it on any Pokémon you find that are unfamiliar to you, because we need to get a grasp on just how many introduced species are here and what kind of effect they’re having on their environments.”

 

“I can do that,” Olivia said, accepting the professor’s request with a smile. “I do like seeing new Pokémon…”

 

“Wonderful! I have no doubt you’ll do well on it.” A bell sound punctuated Juniper’s statement. “And that means your Pokédex upgrade is done.” As Olivia unplugged the device, however, Juniper’s look grew dark. “Now I have a request for you, Bunny, Matt, Nekou. Have any of you seen Professor Elm or heard anything about his whereabouts? He has still not come back.”

 

“Seriously?” Matt said in surprise.

 

“If he didn’t come back by now, something’s happened to him,” Bunny reasoned, holding her chin. “The question is, if someone kidnapped him, who? Considering we ran into Team Rocket, could they…”

 

“What about Polaris, though?” Nekou interrupted, her voice carrying a sound of annoyance. “We also fought them. That Séduire person was responsible for the Meteonite outbreak in Ilex Forest, after all.”

 

“I don’t know…” Matt said indecisively. He was genuinely conflicted between the two choices, as he considered them both equally viable.

 

“I have to go now,” Juniper stated. “I’ll be in contact if I learn anything. Stay well!”

 

A moment later, the screen went dark as Juniper hung up on the call. With that taken care of, Bunny faced her three friends.

 

“So how did it go?” Matt inquired. “How were the Ruins of Alph?”

 

Bunny sighed and grinned. “Crazy, I’ll tell you that right now. Right after we got inside, a bunch of Unown attacked us and separated us.”

 

“What happened to Dante?” Olivia wondered.

 

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s fine. Myself, though… something strange ended up happening. I fell through a doorway that sent me to some other place.”

 

“What?” Nekou gasped, finally coming into the conversation.

 

“That’s what happened.”

 

~:~

 

After falling through the portal in the Ruins of Alph, Bunny found herself waking up in an unfamiliar place. As she came to, she looked around at her surroundings to try and deduce where she was.

 

She was lying on a stone runway leading up to a huge, triangular stage. Statues of various Pokémon stood on both sides of the runway, and far up in the cavernous temple, ledges from the upper levels looked down onto the stage. More immediately, however, Bunny realized how cold she was when she noticed how everything in the temple was covered by a slight layer of frost.

 

Bunny stood, but before she could understand anything more about her situation, the sound of footsteps from the temple entrance distracted her. An elderly, hunchbacked man approached her, with an Abra tagging along loyally at his side.

 

“Who are you?” he coughed. “Outsiders like you aren’t welcome here!”

 

“Please... I don’t mean any harm,” Bunny pleaded. “I don’t know how I got here.”

 

“How do I know you aren’t one of those Harmonia loyalists?” The old man was starting to slowly circle her. “So you finally found the one place we were safe from you..”

 

“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. My name is Bunny Spruce. I’m an archeologist. I was exploring the Ruins of Alph when some Unown sent me through a portal and I ended up here.”

 

The old man’s demeanor softened considerably upon Bunny’s explanation. “The Ruins of Alph? Oh, I understand now... this has happened before. I can send you back. Abra, use Teleport to send her back to the Ruins of Alph.”

 

~:~

 

“…and after that, I made my way directly west to get to Goldenrod City, since I knew you would be coming here. That was when I caught Gogoat, by the way. So how are you three doing?”

 

“To say that everything’s been crazy is an understatement,” Matt sighed. “There have been outbreaks of crazed Pokémon everywhere, and just yesterday we had an encounter with Cassy.”

 

“I heard about the Pokémon behaving strangely, but Cassy? That crazy girl that used to hang around you all the time? Why would she have been around here?”

 

“She’s a member of Polaris.” Matt’s revelation elicited a strong physical response from Bunny, as she curled her face in shock. “And apparently, a highly ranked one, I think. I don’t really know what it all means…”

 

“I got the Hive Badge in Azalea Town,” Olivia piped up.

 

“I’m proud of you for that,” Bunny cheerfully said, patting Olivia on the head. “What was it like?”

 

“It… it wasn’t easy…” Olivia nervously looked away from Bunny as she spoke. The memories of her breakdown were returning, and she was trying not to succumb to them. “It wasn’t easy, but in the end… the feeling of holding that badge in my hand… it was something I want to feel again. I decided to put aside Contests for now so I can focus on Gyms.”

 

“That’s very mature of you to make that decision,” Bunny complimented. “So where are we heading now?”

 

“Oh, that’s the funny part,” Matt laughed bitterly, barely masking his disgust. “We met up with the International Police detective, Looker, and he’s taking us to see Jacob.”

 

As soon as she heard Jacob’s name, Bunny’s face became completely serious. “Oh,” she mumbled, her eyes half closed from the annoyance her memories of the man brought up. “No wonder you seemed irritated about it. Oh well, I guess we best get this out of the way now.”

 

Matt nodded in assent, then turned to the strangely silent Nekou, who didn’t do or say anything other than step closer to the others. They all started toward the exit, but were stopped when another voice called to them.

 

“Olivia? Is that you?”

 

When the newly-reformed group of four turned in the direction of the voice, they saw a familiar boy dressed in a blue-and-black school uniform.

 

“A uniform from Earl’s Pokémon Academy…” Matt said in surprise. “…Monroe? Dominic’s son?”

 

“…you… actually remember me?” the brown-haired young man meekly said as he approached the group. “I’m honored…”

 

“What are you doing in Goldenrod City?” Olivia asked.

 

“I just got a Plain Badge from the Gym, actually.” Furthering his point, Monroe extended his hand, showing them his badge, a yellow diamond outlined in silver.

 

Olivia lit up immediately upon seeing it. “I’m on my way there right now! You’ve got to tell me what you can about the Gym Leader!”

 

“Well…” Monroe chuckled gently before continuing, “…Whitney’s a Normal-type Gym Leader, and she uses a Miltank as her main Pokémon. She’s really imaginative with her moves, so you can’t let her surprise you. But the thing is, you have to do something else before you can face her.”

 

“What’s that?” Now Olivia was confused, narrowing her left eye.

 

“You have to go around Goldenrod City and collect stamps from five places before they let you in. It’s… I hope I’m remembering this correctly… the Radio Tower, the Battle Factory, the Global Terminal, the Game Corner and the Photo Studio in the underground shopping area.”

 

“I’ve got an idea,” Matt chimed in. “After we go talk to Jacob with Looker, how about we all go to the Battle Factory together, and then while I’m doing my challenge, the rest of you can split off, go get the rest of the stamps and meet up with me later at the Gym?”

 

“Don’t you want someone there to support you, though?”

 

Matt shook his head at Bunny and smiled. “I don’t need it. Honestly, I think Olivia would appreciate it more, but I’ll leave it up to her.”

 

Matt, Bunny and Nekou all looked down to Olivia in anticipation of her decision. They didn’t have to wait long, as she quickly said, “Sure, I’m up for it. I have to get my second badge as soon as possible.”

 

“Second…? Huh, what do you know.” Monroe was mumbling to himself, so the others didn’t take notice of him until he directly addressed them. “I… I hope I’m not being a burden, but may I come with you? I don’t have anything to do for a while…”

 

“Sure, I don’t see why n…”

 

“Just as long as you can keep up,” Olivia teased, cutting Matt off in the process. “I won’t be held back.”

 

 _“Good to see you’re back to your old self,”_ Matt thought to himself.

 

With nothing more to be said, the group once again headed for the exit of the Pokémon Center, this time with Monroe tagging along.

 

There was a small plaza immediately outside the Pokémon Center. A pair of fountains bookended the cobblestone grounds, and numerous benches provided plenty of space for pedestrians to rest. It was an area nestled in the tall buildings like a small oasis in an urban desert.

 

As the group walked out of the Pokémon Center, they were immediately confronted by Silver, who defiantly stood in their way and stopped them.

 

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Silver growled. “Any longer and I would have come in there looking for you myself.”

 

“Well in that case it’s pretty lucky you didn’t have to, right?” Nekou sniped back at him. “What now?”

 

“Let’s get going,” he ordered, pointing over to Looker, who was leaning against a lamppost with his arms crossed. “Looker says he can’t wait all day for you.”

 

“Then let’s not make him do that.”

 

Matt led the way over to Looker, and the rest of his friends followed closely behind. Once his audience was assembled, the detective pushed himself off the lamppost with his foot and faced them with a stern manner.

 

“Being much late to this meeting, you all are,” he commented. It took him only a brief moment to realize the group had grown in number, and when he did, he scowled. “Being who is being that boy?”

 

“Oh, you mean Monroe?” Matt answered. “He’s trustworthy, don’t worry about it. He’s the son of a friend of ours and one of my sister’s students.”

 

“If saying so you are.” Looker turned sharply on his heel and added, “Follow me. Going we are to the place where the man with the name Jacob Alexison is held. Making haste we must be doing.”

 

Matt, Olivia and Bunny were put off by Looker’s harsh tone, but it was Monroe who spoke up as they started to follow him and Silver. “I don’t understand, what’s going on?”

 

“We’re going to talk to someone who’s being held prisoner before we do anything else,” Matt explained. “He may have information we need.”

 

As Matt, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe walked off, they were too caught up in talking amongst themselves to notice that Nekou had stayed back. She quietly opened two of her Poké Balls, releasing her Murkrow and Duskull, then took a small camera device from inside her uniform and attached it to her Murkrow’s neck.

 

“Edgar, you know what to do,” she said to her Duskull. “Use your powers to search through the city for our target. Lenore, you use that camera to record wherever it is. I’ll receive the video as soon as you get it, and then I want you two to meet me at Goldenrod Gym. Got it?”

 

Edgar and Lenore happily voiced their agreement, and Nekou petted them on their heads.

 

“Do a good job for me out there, okay?”

 

With that, Nekou rose up, turned and rushed to catch up to the others, while her Pokémon floated up into the air over the city.

 

-:-

 

During the night, Colress had arrived at the Purine Base. Having safely parked his aircraft in a spacious hangar behind the facility, he joined Getriebe and Jeunes in the main lab. At the present, they were holding a video conference with Finansielle. Meanwhile, Meowth was standing behind them, still blank due to the Meteonite’s influence.

 

“It would appear that Matt Chiaki’s group has reached Goldenrod City,” Getriebe explained in his monotone voice.

 

“Do they know where you are? Where the base is?” she questioned.

 

“No, I expect that we’re quite safe from him,” answered Jeunes with a casual shrug. He quickly turned serious, however, and added, “Team Rocket might be a different matter. There’s been rumblings about them having a presence here.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure it’ll work out.” Finansielle’s nonchalant response to the seemingly bad news surprised the two masked scientists, while Colress simply stood behind them, smiling while he tucked his hands in his pockets. “Getriebe, the Purine Base is under your direction. It is up to you to prevent any leaks of its location.”

 

“I accept that mission.”

 

“So what do you think, Colress?” Finansielle asked, her bright mood continuing to create a jarring contrast with those of the others. “Have you got what you need to work there?”

 

“More than enough, easily,” he replied. “All we have to do is finish scanning all the Pokémon that were sent here, and that’s nearly done. Once we get that out of the way, the transfer of the data from this base’s systems to our labs will be easy as pie.” Colress grinned even more widely and pushed his visor up his nose with two fingers, a habit he’d developed with his glasses. “I’m not concerned about Team Rocket or that Matt Chiaki boy you seem so intrigued by. That woman, on the other hand… I’ve been spoiling for a rematch with her since we tangled in Unova.”

 

“Don’t go doing anything stupid,” Finansielle warned. “It would be awfully unfortunate if I had to pull funding for the Purine Base because you got it exposed.”

 

“Don’t worry, Lady Finansielle, I’ve got no intention of starting anything with them.” Colress lowered his head, allowing the glow of the video screen bearing Finansielle’s face to reflect on his visor. “If my prediction is correct, Miss Lalume will come calling right to our door.”

 

-:-

 

The court complex where Looker took Matt’s group turned out to be fairly close to the Pokémon Center. It was an unassuming place, simply a cluster of gray buildings, but it was this dull appearance that made it stand out in the bright lights of Goldenrod City.

 

The detective had deposited his charges in a visiting room, where a group of chairs faced a wide pane of opaque glass. Silver stayed behind while Looker went off to another room, but he simply watched from the back of the room as Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe arranged themselves in the chairs.

 

After several minutes of seemingly nothing happening, Olivia was looking around in impatient confusion. She nearly jumped out of her seat when the phone sitting before them on a small ledge below the window began ringing. After seeing her calm down with Nekou’s help, Matt picked the phone up.

 

“Hello?”

 

“It is happening to be me, Looker! All preparations of readiness have been set into their places where they belong. Are you having readiness?”

 

Matt turned around, only to find his companions staring intently at him, at which point he realized that the phone’s audio was being piped into the room.

 

“What’s the point of the receiver?” he asked incredulously.

 

“It’s just a formality we are having, not much more! So are you having preparedness or not?”

 

“Yeah, I guess I am. Let’s get started.”

 

As soon as Matt gave his assent, the glass changed from opaque to clear, revealing two men behind it. One was Looker, holding a small remote in his hand that triggered the change in the window.

 

The other was an elderly man in an orange prison jumpsuit. He was balding, retaining only some wisps of white hair on his head, but he also had an unkempt beard similarly lacking in color. When he set his eyes upon Matt, he smiled and slowly picked up the phone on his side of the window.

 

“Hello, Matt,” he calmly said.

 

“And hello to you, Jacob…” The bitterness in Matt’s voice was obvious.

 

“To what do I owe this pleasure? It’s quite nice to have you come calling with your rather lovely new friends.”

 

Matt didn’t see Nekou blanche at the implicit suggestion in Jacob’s words, but he didn’t have to as he felt a similar revulsion. Bunny, meanwhile, simply sat stone-faced, staring at her former professor and friend.

 

“Don’t push your luck, Jacob,” Matt growled, clutching his shoulder where Jacob had once shot him. “I would rather just watch you go back to prison for the murder you committed. Unfortunately for me, I need help and you’re the only man I can turn to.”

 

“So what is it? What did you seek me out for?”

 

“It’s about the past of this country and the world. I am aware of the existence of a certain Guild of men that shaped the world’s history thousands of years ago, but they dropped off the charts of history around the time of Caitlin the First’s rule over this country, about a century and a half ago.”

 

“Did you ever think that they don’t exist anymore?”

 

Matt almost instantly became visibly flustered at the suggestion. “But… I remember back to when I found the Golden City of La Ciudad Dorada years ago… that man who tried to stop me, Count Fernando VIII… he said that he thought people from that Guild were coming for him and an artifact in his possession. He thought I was one of them.”

 

“And since when do you put stock in the ravings of a madman?” Jacob reproached him. “You’re Sutter’s grandson, I know you’re smarter than that. Listen well. That Guild disbanded after the events of the attempted revolution led by Colonel Nixon against Caitlin the First in the year 1850.”

 

Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He knew the events Jacob was referring to, especially because he had lived them. Some time earlier, while at the Indigo Plateau investigating the ruins of an ancient city, Matt, Nekou, Olivia and Bunny had been sent back in time by a strange phenomenon and witnessed the rebellion firsthand. Recalling these events led Matt to a realization he considered even more ominous – the Time Gate phenomenon in Ilex Forest was very similar to what had happened.

 

“…are you even listening?” Jacob snapped, bringing Matt back to reality. “They were disbanded because their influence was seen as no longer necessary. Caitlin the First instated the earliest workings of what would become the Pokémon League. As it were, she replaced the guiding hand of a secret organization with bread and circuses for the people, but damn if it didn’t work.”

 

Matt stood and stepped away from the glass, running his hand down his face. All of a sudden, his quest for the truth of the events of the past had hit a wall. He considered the apparent link to the Guild a clue to why those events had taken place, but with that lead now quashed by Jacob, he felt helpless, as if he had run headfirst into a brick wall.

 

He failed to notice Nekou take up the phone.

 

“I’ve got a few questions for you too, old man.”

 

Jacob’s expression brightened at the chance to talk to her. “Well, I have to consider this quite a gift. I’ve been in prison for a long time now, after all. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

 

“You’re lucky I need you. And you’re even more fucking lucky you’re on the other side of that glass, because don’t you think for a second I’d hesitate to crack you one for that. I need to know more about what’s in this book.”

 

Nekou produced the book she’d stolen from the Pokémon Academy library, the one where Sutter and Jacob recounted their adventures. Much to her surprise, as soon as he saw it, Jacob turned white as a sheet and attempted to stand, only to be restrained by his handcuffs bracing him to the table. He ended up smashing his face against the glass.

 

“No! Not that!” he screamed. “Don’t read that! What’s in that book should have been burned decades ago!”

 

“Well I hate to tell you, but it’s more relevant than ever now. I read all about your travels with Sutter Chiaki in it… but what’s really got me intrigued is this one person, Saeko Oryo…”

 

“NO!!” Jacob slammed himself against the glass again. He was blatantly trying to break the handcuffs off the table, which forced Looker to rush in and restrain him.

 

“Doing that you are again, and ending this meeting will!”

 

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry…” Though he stopped throwing himself around, Jacob was visibly rattled and disturbed.

 

“I need to know,” Nekou repeated. “What is the truth behind Saeko Oryo, the Jewel of Life and what happened that day in the Tenganist holy land?”

 

“If you really want to know, it’s a horrible story…” Jacob looked up, hoping to see Nekou dissuaded from the story, but he was disappointed to find her gaze more determined than ever. “Fine. You know of the Transcendence, the power that many Tenganists have?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Saeko Oryo had the most powerful one, the ability to see the past and future. Her people called her “The Oracle” and she was held in a position of high honor within their society. But then…”

 

“I know, she was burned as a witch,” Nekou said, irritated. “Stop stalling. What really happened?”

 

“The… the reason she was to be burned was because… she… she got too close to us. Sutter and I, we were outsiders. That led the Tenganists in the holy land to treat us with suspicion already, but she got too close to us. When she was tried and condemned, we were exiled from the holy land. But, as we were leaving, she escaped her prison and tried to leave as well. When she couldn’t, she… she committed the mortal sin. She used the partial Jewel of Life there for her own benefit.”

 

“How, and why?” Now Bunny was involved in the questioning, as she was utterly fascinated with the story.

 

“As far as I can tell, she didn’t want to die, so she swallowed that accursed thing. Foolish choice… it unleashed massive energy and burned her from the inside out. She condemned herself to the very death she tried to avoid. But that wasn’t it. The backlash from her swallowing it… even though it was just partial… it unleashed a blast of energy that destroyed the Tenganist holy land. At once all of its residents perished, and a lush jungle was turned into a snowy wasteland. Sutter and I only survived because we were just outside of it. We watched as everything in front of our eyes turned to pure death in an instant.”

 

“No wonder he’s so shaken…” Matt murmured.

 

“You said it was a mortal sin in their eyes. Why?”

 

“Your fortitude is admirable,” Jacob complimented Nekou. “Long, long ago… the Tenganists spread throughout the world. There was not one place they didn’t reach with their then-advanced society. In the Kalos region, an especially strong settlement of Tenganists took hold three thousand years ago. They were led by a mighty, powerful king… he was called AZ, the beginning and the end, because of the great power he held. He was the alchemist who first discovered the way to create a Jewel of Life using the Life Plates of Arceus. Even with just shards of the Plates, a jewel containing the life energy of the earth could be created, just as it was by Arceus itself in the legend of Michina. AZ created a Jewel of Life and led his kingdom to great prosperity, but it would not last.”

 

Jacob stopped for a moment to appreciate how enthralled his audience was.

 

“A war started. Greedy individuals led by AZ’s younger brother wished to capture the kingdom and the power it held. The war was so horrible and vast that AZ had to send his beloved Pokémon to fight in that war… and it perished. When he received its body, AZ was distraught. Desperate to save it, he created a device powered by the life energy of other living Pokémon to resurrect that Pokémon, but it was not enough. He had to augment it with the Jewel of Life for the device to work, and it did. But even with his Pokémon revived, he was too far gone into his madness. He further powered up the device and turned it into an ultimate weapon, a harbinger of death itself… with the Jewel of Life he set devastation and ruin on both sides of the war. He ended it, but his Pokémon left his side because of his sins… AZ then disappeared, and the kingdom was dismantled by his regretful brother. Because of AZ’s actions, using the Jewel of Life for such purposes is considered a mortal sin even by the modern-day Tenganists.”

 

“I see…” Nekou passively said, lost in her consideration of what she had learned. “Well, thanks, I guess.”

 

“Listen to me though!” Jacob was screaming again, and behind him, Looker was watching warily. “Don’t pursue any further knowledge about this!”

 

“Why the fuck would a murderer like you care?” Nekou countered with a bitter tone.

 

“I learned my lesson. What I did was wrong. But if you pursue the Jewel of Life and knowledge of what happened in the past, it will bring you nothing but ruin! Listen to me! Matt, you know better than anyone here what could happen!”

 

“All I know is that you shot me.” Matt shared the same audible bitterness that Nekou had. He looked down on Jacob and added, “Why should I believe that you care about my well being now?”

 

“It’s not just yours but possibly this entire world’s!”

 

Jacob stood up again, and at that point, Looker had had enough. “That is having it, Alexison! We are being done here!”

 

The glass went opaque again when Looker pressed the button on his remote, and Matt’s group could hear several crashes against the glass, presumably from Looker restraining Jacob.

 

“I guess he sure takes his job seriously,” Olivia awkwardly uttered to break the uncomfortable silence.

 

“Sometimes, you’re right about that,” Silver put in, approaching the group for the first time since the meeting started. “I think he wants me to show you out now.”

 

“That’s probably for the best,” Matt concurred.

 

Before they started walking, though, Bunny tapped both him and Nekou on their shoulders. When they turned to look at her, she said, “I’m going to keep looking into what he told us, because that story reminded me of something I heard that happened in Unova.”

 

“Unova, huh?” Nekou raised an eyebrow. “Who knows what you might find…”

 

-:-

 

Team Rocket weren’t the only ones with a hideout in Goldenrod’s slums. Polaris had one too, set up in a small warehouse inconspicuous to passersby on the street. Inside, Cassy lay on a makeshift bed with her leg bandaged. Geminus was with her, though he was speaking to Finansielle using a video screen.

 

“I have to say, I appreciate your diligence in going out there and recovering her,” Finansielle said, “but she must be punished according to the Sacred Helix’s code for removing her mask. Do you understand why we wear masks, Geminus?”

 

“Do enlighten me, my lady,” Geminus requested, standing with his arms crossed.

 

“We wear masks because in the world envisioned by Polaris, we are all equal. That cannot be perfectly duplicated right now, so the next best thing is erasing who we are by all assuming the masks. I let Ghetsis get away with it for now because he’s too much of a blind egomaniac to cooperate and it’s not worth the effort for the time we need him, but I have higher expectations of Séduire.”

 

“If we are trying to be the salvation of the world from its sins,” countered Geminus, “should we not forgive her for her own? I understand we must hold ourselves to a higher standard if we are to be the leaders of man’s next evolution, but she is just an innocent girl who lost her mask through an accident.” Geminus grinned, then asked, “Can she not be forgiven?”

 

Geminus and Finansielle stared at each other for what felt like forever, their eyes searing into each other from behind their masks. Abruptly, though, Finansielle smiled.

 

“I suppose forgiveness can be arranged.”

 

His request granted, Geminus grinned a bit more widely as well. “I knew you’d find some mercy in your heart, Lady Finansielle.”

 

“I sure did. Stand by for what you should do next.”

 

Finansielle disappeared from the screen. Geminus then walked over to the bed, sat down and took up Cassy’s hand.

 

“Don’t you worry. I’ll make everything you wish for come true.”

 

-:-

 

Outside the court complex, Matt, Nekou and Bunny were left standing in confusion as they attempted to rationalize what Jacob had told them while Olivia and Monroe went off on the subject of Goldenrod City’s Gym. Each of them was struggling with the new knowledge in a different way. While Matt was sullen and silent, holding his chin as he faced the wall his quest had seemingly reached, Bunny was pacing back and forth and Nekou was facing away from the others, fiddling with the stem of her glasses.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Matt jumped, having been so enraptured in his own thoughts that Bunny’s sudden question startled him. “What he told me… well, what I asked him about was what spurred me into looking for the truth in the first place. Back when we first met Dante, he told me that the Light Stone, which is necessary for finding Reshiram, will only appear to someone who has put extraordinary effort into searching for the truth. But if my search all started for a reason I was mistaken about, how can I actually find the truth?”

 

“Is it really mistaken, though?” Bunny suggested. “So the Guild you thought was behind what happened five years ago doesn’t actually exist anymore. Does that really matter? The end result you’re pursuing is still the same. You still want to know the truth behind the same events, it’s just that one potential answer isn’t in play anymore.”

 

For a few minutes, Matt considered what Bunny had said, taking to pacing back and forth much as she had been doing. When he finally stopped, he turned to her and said, “You’re right. Thanks for talking me down from that.”

 

“So what will you do next? What’s your next step?”

 

“When I defeated her in Cherrygrove, Dahlia told me that the Frontier Brain of the Battle Factory might know more about Reshiram. Plus, Olivia needs to go there to get one of the stamps she needs for entering Goldenrod Gym, so I think the answer is that we should head over there first.”

 

“Alright.” Bunny smiled, then looked over to where Olivia was still in Monroe’s face regarding battle strategy. “Olivia! Come on, we’re going to the Battle Factory now!”

 

“Alright!” she called back. “Come on, you’re coming with us,” Olivia then said to Monroe.

 

“I… I wanted to in the first place.”

 

As Olivia and Monroe walked back toward Matt and Bunny, they passed by Nekou, who was still preoccupied fiddling with whatever she was doing. Olivia realized that Nekou’s lack of presence in the conversations going on was unusual, so she slapped her friend on the back to get her attention.

 

“Hey! What are you doing?”

 

“What the fu…” Once Nekou had turned around and realized who was addressing her, her angry expression softened. “Sorry, Olivia, I was distracted. What’s going on?”

 

“We’re heading over to the Battle Factory.”

 

“Okay, obviously I’ll be coming along.”

 

Matt and Bunny had been watching the entire exchange between Olivia and Nekou, and by the time the two of them and Monroe finally joined with them, they were visibly frustrated.

 

“Ready yet?” Matt sighed.

 

Nekou gently draped her arms over his shoulders, licked her lips and stared into his eye as she breathily replied, “I don’t know… are we?”

 

“Okay, now you’re messing with me,” he said, pulling away. “I’ll take it as a yes. Let’s go.”

 

 _“Maybe not, you don’t know…”_ she thought to herself with a wry grin as the group finally started on its way.

 

The Battle Factory was at the far western end of the city, but not terribly far from the Pokémon Center and therefore not far from the court complex. While the trip didn’t require a significant amount of walking, though, the necessary route did take them past a number of landmarks on their way. While they passed by the Magnet Train station – a dome-roofed building that Nekou never stopped staring at as she passed – and the imposing structure of the city’s Radio Tower, a large building made of glass came into view. It was both wide and tall, with multiple antennae and satellite dishes affixed to its roof. A vast, busy plaza spread out before it.

 

“Wow, that building is beautiful!” Olivia burst out, running to get a closer view of its sun-drenched splendor.

 

“That’s the Global Terminal, Olivia,” Nekou explained once she caught up. “People trade Pokémon and battle with others worldwide from there. That’s the nexus of the Pokémon trading market.”

 

“You have to go there to get one of the stamps,” Monroe added as a reminder.

 

“Can we go to the Battle Factory first?” Matt quietly asked. “Remember, you guys can all split from me once I get started there.”

 

“Fine, fine,” Nekou said, waving him off.

 

Matt turned, but stopped almost instantly. Over by one of the plaza’s fountains, he could see a towering man in a dark red trench coat. The figure’s height wasn’t the only thing setting him apart from the nondescript crowd around him, however, as he had a wide shock of orange hair that spread out in both directions from his head, as well as an orange beard. He was just standing there, staring toward the rest of the plaza and the Global Terminal itself.

 

“Wait,” Matt said, putting his hand up to stop the others.

 

It ended up being Nekou who walked into his hand, and when her chest bumped into it, she immediately took a single step back and snarked, “I knew you were interested.”

 

“Nekou, not now.” Ignoring Nekou’s attempt to get a rise from him, Matt pointed toward the strange man. “Doesn’t that guy look familiar?”

 

“Yeah, he does, actually…”

 

“I’ve never seen him,” Olivia remarked. “He gives me the creeps.”

 

“Wait, I know who he is,” Bunny suddenly realized. “That’s Lysandre Flordelis, the president of the electronics company Lysandre Labs in Kalos. What’s he doing here?”

 

As it turned out, Bunny would soon get her answer. Lysandre had seen the group pointing at him, and he slowly and deliberately approached them himself. Matt quickly understood why Olivia said she was disturbed by him; he was easily taller than the six-foot-plus Matt, and his eyes burned with an unsettling intensity.

 

“I see you recognize me,” Lysandre said, his deep voice shaking the bones of his audience. “Therefore, we will dispense with formalities. Who are you?”

 

“Matt Chiaki, sir.” Matt couldn’t help but show Lysandre a degree of respect he didn’t usually show. “And this is Nekou, and Bunny, and Olivia and Monroe.”

 

“Matt Chiaki…” Shutting his eyes, Lysandre continued speaking, “I know of you as well. Even as far off as the Kalos region, your efforts in creating a renewable energy source are recognized. I commend you for your efforts to improve this world.”

 

“Th-thank you…”

 

“May I ask why you are in Johto, Mister Flordelis?” Bunny spoke up.

 

“I am here because I am intrigued by the organization known as Polaris…” Nekou immediately blanched at the statement, but Lysandre didn’t notice. He instead turned away to face the Global Terminal once more. “A group that aims to reshape the world… is it a force for good? I have tried to help the world with the profits from my company but my efforts have been futile. Resources, money and land simply exist in only finite qualities. Could Polaris be able to accomplish what I could not and save this world?” Turning back to the group, Lysandre asked, “What do you think?”

 

“I think Polaris is a fucking scam and you’d have to be dumb as shit to fall for it,” Nekou immediately chimed in, causing her companions to visibly panic.

 

“Nekou, don’t be so rude!”

 

Nekou shrugged at Matt’s reproach. “So what? He asked what I think, and I just answered him.”

 

“Yes, that is true,” Lysandre said, much to the surprise of both Matt and Bunny. “You have your opinion on Polaris. I recognize that. I wonder what you will do to contribute to the world, though. As for me, I’m interested in this place because Polaris will be holding a speech here in this plaza tomorrow. I want to see for myself if their claims have merit.”

 

“Maybe we’ll meet there?” Olivia suggested.

 

“Perhaps. Well, it has been interesting speaking to you and your friends, Matt Chiaki. I would like to see you again someday. I expect that I will.”

 

With that, Lysandre walked past Matt and the others and left the plaza. Immediately, Nekou turned her nose up at him as he vanished into the crowd.

 

“What a fucking weirdo.”

 

“Nekou, please…”

 

“Actually, I think I agree with her on this one.” Bunny’s agreement with Nekou made Matt stare in wide-eyed surprise at them both. “I heard he was a strange guy, but that was actually disturbing…”

 

“Come on, let’s go,” Olivia urged them. “We can’t fall behind schedule here.”

 

Shaking off the sense of fear that Lysandre had instilled in him, Matt started to lead the group down the road toward the Battle Factory once again. They didn’t have far left to go, and before long, the huge, egg-shaped metallic building came into view. It was at the front of a cluster of buildings on the coast and had several large industrial fans on each side.

 

“There we go,” Matt said, smiling in relief. “Now we can finally get going.”

 

“Come on, you slowpokes! Get moving!”

 

For the second time, Olivia ran ahead of the others, but she didn’t slow until she reached the entryway of the Battle Factory. Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Monroe all had to rush through the crowds to catch up with her at the iron gates.

 

“You’re pretty enthusiastic about this, aren’t you, Olivia?”

 

“After the shit we’ve been through,” Nekou said to Bunny, “I can hardly blame her.”

 

Matt pushed the doorway open and held it for his friends to pass through before he entered himself. He was surprised what he found inside – unlike the Battle Arcade, which had a dark and flashy interior, inside the Battle Factory was bright and stark white, both on the walls and on the floor. The only break in this sterile setting was a path of transparent blue plastic on the floor leading from the entrance to a desk on the other side of the room, underneath which ran glowing circuitry lines.

 

“Olivia, this way,” Monroe urged while gesturing toward a bank of computers nearby, “that’s where you get the stamp for the Gym.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“I’m guessing that’s the registry desk where I need to go…” Matt ventured while Olivia went off with Monroe. He followed the blue path, and Nekou and Bunny went after him. When he got to the desk, however, he was left in confusion as he looked around for an attendant. “What’s with this? There’s nobody here?”

 

“Look at that,” Bunny said, pointing at a red button on the desk that Matt had initially missed. “Think that calls someone?”

 

“Let’s find out.”

 

Almost instantly upon the moment Matt pressed the button, a hologram lit up from the desk. It was of a short, droopy-eyed man, whose green hair was styled into segments wrapped around his head. He was well-dressed, clad in a black vest with a white undershirt accompanied by a slate-gray necktie.

 

“…Thorton?!” Matt exclaimed, stepping back in surprise.

 

 _“Welcome to the Battle Factory. I am the Factory Head, Thorton,”_ the hologram introduced. _“If you are a challenger, please scan your Frontier Pass now.”_

 

“You know this guy?” Nekou questioned Matt as he fumbled for his Frontier Pass in his bag.

 

“I went to school with him in Rustboro. We had the same robotics class together.”

 

Once Matt had scanned the Frontier Pass using a small panel in front of the hologram projector, it recited, _“Welcome, challenger. Today in the Battle Factory, you will face a series of three-on-three Single Battles. However, you will not be permitted to use your own Pokémon. Instead, you must select virtual rental Pokémon from our stock, and your opponents will also be using rental Pokémon. After each victory, you will get a clue toward your next opponent and the opportunity to trade a Pokémon for one of the previous opponent’s Pokémon. If you win three battles, your fourth and final will be against me. Good luck.”_

 

Part of the desk slid away, allowing Matt passage through to the path leading to the battlefield. Before he followed it, he turned around to Nekou and Bunny, discovering that Olivia and Monroe had rejoined them.

 

“I guess I’ll be here a while if I want to talk to him about Reshiram. You guys go around the city and get the rest of the stamps. I’ll meet up with you later at the Gym.” Matt put his hand on Olivia’s shoulder and added, “Be confident when you go in there. Just go ahead and go for what you want. Make all of us proud.”

 

“I will!” she responded with a broad grin.

 

Matt straightened up to his full height, but before he could turn around, he noticed Nekou wink at him and say, “Nice.”

 

-:-

 

Roughly fifteen minutes later, Thorton was watching from his control room as Matt wrapped up his first battle. With a Tangrowth in the group of Pokémon he’d selected, Matt had made short work of the Gastrodon and Quagsire before him, and was just finishing up the last opponent, a Magnezone.

 

 _“Tangrowth, Focus Blast!”_ Matt’s voice echoed in Thorton’s spacious office from the monitor the Factory Head was watching the battle on.

 

A sphere of energy took shape between the Tangrowth’s arms, which she then threw at the Magnezone. There was a great explosion, and when its smoke cleared, the Magnezone was lying still on the ground.

 

 _“Challenger wins!”_ the holographic referee droned. _“Battle number one concluded!”_

 

“Shit…” Thorton groaned, slumping in his chair. “I can’t deal with this. Not now with Finansielle breathing down my neck.”

 

“He’s going to ask you about Reshiram if he reaches you,” Jeunes said from the shadows behind Thorton. “We cannot risk letting any information fall into the hands of the enemy.”

 

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Thorton snapped. “And why are you here anyway? I’m working!”

 

“Cool your jets, Getriebe,” Colress sarcastically uttered, stepping forward toward the control computer where Thorton was seated. “We finished entering all the Pokémon we received from the others into the database, so you of all people should know how to fix this. The Purine Base is yours, after all. Just dial up the difficulty on his challenge. Make him face a Pokémon he cannot possibly defeat.”

 

“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Thorton responded, calming considerably. “He’s gotten better as a trainer since I went to school with him, but this base contains enough data for me to create something he has no hope against.”

 

With his colleagues looking on, Thorton swiftly entered a command into his control system. When he hit the execute key, the holographic referee on the battlefield instantly acted.

 

_“Challenger, your second opponent will lead with a Pokémon that knows Air Slash. Would you like to trade?”_

_“Yes, here.”_ Matt pulled away one of the holographic Poké Balls floating next to him. Three more of them appeared in front of him, and he touched one of them – the one with the Magnezone – to add it to his team.

 

_“Your trade is complete. Now beginning battle number two.”_

 

A holographic trainer was projected on the opposite side of the battlefield from Matt. It was a young man with spiky green hair, dressed in a vest, bowtie and cape.

 

_“I took time off from my gig at the circus to battle you! Go, Tornadus!”_

 

The Pokémon that materialized from the hologram’s Poké Ball was a muscular, green humanoid, with everything below his waist enveloped by a white cloud. Another cloud sat atop his head like hair, and his long, purple tail stretched around him to its ending in a curl.

 

As soon as they saw the Pokémon Thorton had sent Matt’s way, Colress broke down laughing.

 

“G-Getriebe…” Colress was so beside himself with hilarity that he could barely speak. “You sure took my advice literally, didn’t you?! I mean… wow, throwing a legendary Pokémon at him… this is just too good!”

 

“We just have to hope Tornadus gets past the Magnezone,” Jeunes added, sobering the mood. “It gets that far, we’re home free.”

 

The sudden sound of footsteps indicated that someone else had joined the group of three conspirators. “It’s all finished… those containers are all counted and collected safely on the ship that’ll carry ‘em on out of here…”

 

Colress turned around and pushed his visor up again. “Ah, good job, Meowth,” he said to the brainwashed Pokémon. “Putting you to work for Polaris’s cause was a fine idea after all.”

 

“Don’t stress him too much,” Thorton remarked while pulling up a chart on his computer. “Have a look at this. If you overtax his mind, the Meteonite’s energy may cause him to simply fall into a comatose state. The energy he was exposed to wasn’t stabilized.”

 

“You’re lucky you have a mind like mine working to fix that, because with just a little bit more work, I’ll have that sorted right now. Now, what’s the schedule for getting those Pokémon to the Adenosine Base?”

 

“The day after tomorrow,” Jeunes answered. “Trust me. I have this all prepared already.”

 

The three Polaris members continued to discuss their plans while paying fleeting attention to Matt’s struggle against Tornadus, which was unfolding on the monitor.

 

What they were unaware of was that they weren’t the only ones privy to their colluding. Outside, flying over the Battle Factory, were two Pokémon staring intently at the building.

 

“Duskull, dus duskull,” Edgar chattered to Lenore, his eye glowing as he gazed at the Battle Factory.

 

“Mur-krow.”

 

-:-

 

Olivia, Monroe, Nekou and Bunny had gone to the city’s Game Corner in their pursuit of the Gym stamps. They’d saved it for last on Nekou’s recommendation, agreeing with her belief that it would be good to relax with some games before heading off to the Gym. Nekou had stayed behind as the others went to get the stamp, however, as she was preoccupied looking at something on her phone.

 

That something was a direct video feed from Lenore’s camera. Grimacing at a revelation she didn’t want to believe, Nekou pressed a button on the screen to switch to an infrared view of the video. Her worst fears were realized when she could make out four figures, which with a small amount of digital enhancement took on the recognizable shapes of Thorton, Jeunes, Colress and Meowth.

 

“Fuck…” Nekou growled at the phone, a feeling of dread taking hold in her stomach. “Fucking hell… I was afraid of this… the Battle Factory is the Purine Base after all…”

 

“Hey, Nekou, what are you doing?” Olivia called out from a cluster of games a short distance away. “Come over here and check this out!”

 

Putting aside the grave concerns she had for the moment, Nekou put her phone away and followed Olivia’s beckoning. The girl and her friends had gathered around a game machine titled “Meloetta’s Dance Rumble,” which featured a small, fairy-like Pokémon with blue eyes and long golden hair overlooking a stage.

 

“Oh, this game?” Nekou laughed, a wry smirk coming onto her face. “I’m good at this shit. Let’s play.”

 

”Good, because Monroe thinks I’ll beat him.”

 

“Aw, come on, Olivia, I told you I’m just not that good at it…”

 

“You won’t beat me.” Suddenly thinking of something, Nekou turned to Bunny and asked, “Why didn’t you play?”

 

“This game isn’t my favorite,” Bunny replied, waving off the inquiry, “you play. You guys ought to have more fun.”

 

“Alright then.”

 

Nekou and Olivia took the stage, each of them occupying one of the two pairs of directional arrows under their feet. After looking to Olivia to confirm that she was ready, Nekou deposited several coins into the game machine, bringing it fully to life. The Pokémon adorning the machine, Meloetta, cried out cheerfully, followed by the words ‘Both of you, dance like you want to win!’ displaying on the video monitor before its two players.

 

“Get ready to lose, Olivia,” Nekou whispered while she continued smirking. “I like you, but I play to win.”

 

“I won’t go down without a fight.” Olivia countered with a wide grin of her own. “Either way, we’re walking out of this with fistfuls of game coins.”

 

Spotlights flared around the game, and a fast-paced dance song started to play. Arrows started scrolling up the screen to tell Nekou and Olivia which steps to make on the stage, and they furiously attempted to follow every single one.

 

-:-

 

“You have got to be kidding me!” Thorton screamed, standing and kicking away his chair. Behind him, Colress and Jeunes both had looks of worry themselves.

 

It had taken another twenty minutes, but Matt had actually overcome the trainer with the Tornadus. Luck had played a huge part, as Matt quickly deduced Tornadus’s Flying-type from its Air Slash and sent the Steel-and-Electric-type Magnezone to face it, only to discover it also knew the Fighting-type move Focus Blast. However, all of the attempted Focus Blasts Tornadus used missed their target, leaving Magnezone able to defeat it. After that, defeating his Gengar was a simple matter, but it took Magnezone, Tangrowth and Matt’s third Pokémon, Glaceon, to finally put down his Pinsir.

 

The mood in the control room was one of palpable panic. Though none of them said it, the three Polaris leaders were all thinking the same thing: if Matt could find a way around a legendary Pokémon like Tornadus, there could very well be no way to stop him.

 

“Maybe try another legendary Pokémon?” Jeunes suggested. For once, the ordinarily cunning and brilliant scientist was at a loss for a solution. “Heatran? Landorus?”

 

“That’s not going to work. He’ll find a way around it.”

 

“Wait, Getriebe, I have an idea,” Colress chimed in. His sarcastic manner from earlier was gone. “This base contains data on just about every possible Pokémon. So far we’ve been hitting him with Pokémon he clearly can figure out. So why not hit him with something we know he’s never seen?”

 

“What are you thinking, Colress?” Thorton questioned, reverting to his typical bored tone.

 

“Finansielle told us about him. He’s been to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Orre. Notice something missing from that list?”

 

“Kalos,” Jeunes immediately answered, verbally stepping on Thorton, “and the only Pokémon from Kalos he’s seen is Séduire’s Pyroar. We send a team of Kalos Pokémon against him, and he’ll have no chance.”

 

“Let’s do it then,” Thorton said, turning back to his control system. “I’ve got a few ideas up my sleeve.”

 

-:-

 

Out on the battlefield, Matt had just finished his trade, swapping away his Magnezone for the Tornadus used by the previous hologram trainer.

 

“Your trade is complete. Now beginning battle number three.”

 

The hologram generator on the other side of the field projected a young woman wearing a tank top, tight jeans and her brown hair in a bun. Despite being just a computer program, she displayed personality by lifting her sunglasses from her eyes.

 

“Oh, my, a challenger…” she said. Matt thought he detected a condescending tone in her voice. “Let me finish you off so I can go back to the beach. Go, Greninja!”

 

The Pokémon sent out by the beautiful woman caused Matt to recoil. It was unlike anything he’d seen before – a purple-and-white frog with flat, webbed feet and hands and sharp, angular ears, whose tongue wrapped around its neck and flowed out like a scarf. The Pokémon, Greninja, leaned down and struck a battle-ready stance as he awaited Matt’s move.

 

“It looks kind of like a frog,” Matt reasoned, “so I think it should be Water-type. In that case, Tangrowth, make your mark!”

 

The virtual Tangrowth emerged from her Poké Ball and flexed her long arms, but she was barely out for a moment before the holographic trainer reacted.

 

“Greninja, Ice Beam!”

 

What happened next caught Matt completely by surprise. Before he attacked, the blue parts of Greninja’s body changed into a much lighter blue, and the ensuing Ice Beam he launched was far more intense than Matt expected. Tangrowth ended up taking a direct hit, and not only was she badly injured, she was frozen into a block of ice.

 

“Tangrowth!” Matt gasped.

 

“Greninja, Dark Pulse!”

 

Greninja’s color changed again, this time to a deep black. He then brought his hands together to form a cluster of dark energy, which flooded forward in the form of black rings. Within her block of ice, Tangrowth had no hope of escape.

 

“Tangrowth is unable to battle!” the holographic referee called.

 

Without a word, Matt recalled Tangrowth and readied another virtual Poké Ball. “I don’t know what this is… Glaceon, do your best out there!”  


When Matt’s rented Glaceon came out of the sphere, she shook her head and stretched. Greninja and his trainer both stood still, waiting for something to happen.

 

“Glaceon, try a Blizzard!”

 

The virtual trainer reacted instantly. “Greninja, Water Shuriken!”

 

While Glaceon took in air to use in her attack, Greninja shifted back to his original blue coloring and formed a set of four throwing stars made of water in his hand, which he used to cut Glaceon’s body in several places. When he finally got hit by the blast of ice Glaceon countered with, he barely shivered.

 

A sudden realization came to Matt’s mind. “The color changes… it’s changing its type! Shifted to Water to block an Ice attack, shifted to Dark and Ice before… alright, try this! Hyper Beam!”

 

“Greninja, Rock Slide!”

 

Glaceon started to charge energy for her attack, but Greninja was simply too fast. His skin took on a brown hue, and he used his power to create a glowing portal that dropped large rocks onto Glaceon, crushing her. She held on even under the weight of the stones and managed to fire the crimson laser from her mouth, but like the earlier Blizzard, Greninja used his type shifting to shrug it off.

 

Matt felt his heart stop as the flaws in his strategy caught up with him. He knew that Hyper Beam often required a Pokémon using it to rest afterward, but that had slipped his mind when he ordered it, meaning Glaceon had no ability to even try escaping from the rock pile. Both he and Glaceon could do nothing but watch as the computer program controlling the opposition played out its next move.

 

“Greninja, Water Shuriken!”

 

With his skin shifting back to blue once more, Greninja shaped another set of throwing stars – this time a total of five – in his hand. His motions were swift as he threw the quintet of watery weapons Glaceon’s way, and they hit her with such force that they even caused the hill of rocks to collapse around her.

 

As the aftermath became visible, Glaceon was lying prone on the floor among the broken stones.

 

“Glaceon is unable to battle!”

 

Matt scoffed and sent Glaceon back to her virtual Poké Ball without a word. The same feeling he’d had after meeting with Jacob, that of his goal of finding Reshiram seemingly slipping away, was back again. The difference was that this time, he wasn’t feeling hopeless. He’d burned through that earlier. As he curled his face and burned right through the holographic trainer with his gaze, he felt his arms twitching as anger washed over him. He reasoned to himself that if he could overcome Tornadus, a Pokémon he knew was legendary, he could defeat Greninja.

 

“That’s it!” he gasped out loud, realizing just what his last Pokémon was. Reflexively, he grabbed the last Poké Ball and threw it, releasing the Tornadus that had been his enemy less than a half hour earlier.

 

Matt knew his situation was desperate, but watching Tornadus stretch his muscular arms in preparation for the impending fight gave him a brief sense of hope. It didn’t last long, for when he glanced over to Greninja, he saw the Pokémon adjusting his tongue scarf, equally ready for what was to come.

 

“Tornadus, Air Slash! Take it down!”

 

“Greninja, Ice Beam!”

 

That Greninja would use Ice Beam again was something Matt had anticipated. But as the two Pokémon started to move toward each other, he realized that Greninja was quite clearly moving faster than Tornadus. Without outrunning him, Matt knew that Tornadus would be at Greninja’s mercy.

 

The clash played out in the blink of an eye. Tornadus had a wave of wind energy surrounding his tail, but when Greninja slammed him with the blast of ice, he lost his aim and lashed the wave up at the ceiling as he fell to the floor.

 

Matt’s thoughts were beginning to jumble, and he was no longer able to focus on the battle. All he knew was the basic type matchup of Fighting overpowering Ice. “Tornadus, try a Focus Blast!” he cried in desperation.

 

Tornadus brought his hands together and formed a sphere of energy between them, but well before he could act, Greninja was upon him.

 

“Greninja, Ice Beam!”

 

The computer program was so confident in its impending victory that it no longer felt the need to change Greninja’s type, instead opting to go in for the finishing move immediately. With his superior speed, Greninja got as close to Tornadus as he dared and shot an Ice Beam right into the Flying-type Pokémon’s face.

 

Matt looked away. He didn’t have to have his eyes on the battle to know what was coming next.

 

“The house wins! Battle number three concluded!”

 

-:-

 

In the control room, the mood was one of celebration. Jeunes and Colress were even high-fiving each other.

 

“Well that takes care of that!” Colress laughed. “Don’t have to worry about him troubling us on Reshiram now!”

 

“I must give you credit, Colress,” Jeunes complimented. “Excellent idea, sending Kalos Pokémon into the battle.”

 

“Well, I am a genius after all.” As he stroked his own ego, Colress pushed his visor up again and put his hands in his pockets.

 

“You two are celebrating,” Thorton droned, his voice taking the joy out of the room, “but what do we do if he comes back?”

 

“He won’t be back here today, rest assured,” Jeunes answered. “He’ll go back with his little harem for the night to lick his wounds. And tomorrow? Don’t make me laugh. Tomorrow we’ll have this whole area locked down. And the day after that, Getriebe, we’ll be evacuating you to the Adenosine Base to continue your work. This facility is going to be shut down. Its purpose has been served.”

 

Thorton spun around in his chair, surprised at this news. “I cannot say I’m thrilled with that. This base has been my pet project since the start.”

 

“You don’t have to worry. All your work will be transferred to the Adenosine Base so you can continue.”

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, after winning enough Game Corner coins between them for Olivia to receive a prize, she, Nekou, Bunny and Monroe had gone to Goldenrod City’s Gym. Unlike the previous two Gyms the group had visited, this one was much more ordinary in appearance. On the outside, it was a simple brick building, while its interior held a battlefield of artificial grass surrounded by a white and pink floor.

 

A young woman stood confidently before Olivia and her friends, staring them down from the opposite end of the battlefield. Her pink pigtails shook from behind her head as she walked forward to address her visitors.

 

“Welcome to Goldenrod Gym!” she cheerfully greeted. “I’m Whitney, the Gym Leader here!” Whitney hesitated when she realized Monroe was there. “Oh, Monroe, it’s you again. Did you come back for something?”

 

“I’m just here to support my friend,” Monroe answered, gesturing to Olivia.

 

“Oh? And who might you be?”

 

“My name is Olivia!” Olivia’s voice carried such confidence that Nekou and Bunny immediately felt a surge in pride for her. “I’m here to challenge you for the Plain Badge!”

 

“I’m liking your spunk, challenger,” Whitney said with a wink. “Alright, how many Badges do you have?”

 

“One.”

 

“Then this will be a three-on-three Single Battle. Substitutions are allowed on both sides, and the battle is over when one side loses all their Pokémon. Are we all square on that?”

 

“I got it, but…” Olivia wrinkled her nose. “…who’s the referee?”

 

“Oh, usually, I have my assistants here, but they’re all up at the National Park today.”

 

“I’ll referee the battle,” Monroe volunteered.

 

Both Olivia and Whitney looked at the boy in surprise, but quickly accepted the idea. Whitney said, “That Monroe’s a real whiz kid, you know? Olivia, you pick good friends.”

 

“Is that true?” Olivia asked Monroe as she stepped into her box on the battlefield and he walked to the referee position at mid-field.

 

“I…” Suddenly, Monroe was flush with embarrassment. “I… guess I’m okay.”

 

“Olivia, you can do it!” Bunny called out, having gone to a nearby spectator area with Nekou. “Win that Badge!”

 

“Oh, I intend to,” she responded, taking up one of her Poké Balls.

 

“You’ve got some fire in you, Olivia. I like that. Let’s have a fun battle!” Reaching under the end of her red-and-white baseball jersey, Whitney pulled a Poké Ball of her own from the waist of her shorts and threw it. “Go, Porygon!”

 

“Lillipup, let’s play!”

 

Once they arrived on the battlefield, the two Normal-type Pokémon regarded each other with caution. Porygon, being the more experienced of the pair, simply floated in the air and watched its opponent, while Lillipup began slowly circling it, looking for a weakness to exploit.

 

“The first match is going to be Olivia’s Lillipup versus Whitney’s Porygon!” Monroe announced. “Go!”

 

“Lillipup, use Tackle!”

 

“I thought you’d begin with a Normal-type attack,” Whitney said as she watched Lillipup scamper toward Porygon. “And I’ll go with this! Porygon, Conversion 2!”

 

Lillipup leapt into the air and rammed Porygon, throwing his foe back a few feet. However, Porygon quickly recovered and began glowing. Before long, the surface of Porygon’s body had changed to a brown color.

 

Whitney saw Olivia’s surprised expression and felt compelled to explain. “Conversion 2 changes the user’s type into one that resists the type of the last attack that hit it. I just knew you would use a Normal-type attack when I saw you begin with Lillipup. After all,” she said with a smile, “I am the Gym Leader who specializes in Normal-type Pokémon.”

 

“If you changed Porygon’s type, with that color it must be… Rock,” Olivia correctly deduced. “I just need to make my attacks stronger, then! Lillipup, Work Up!”

 

Seeing that Olivia was taking care to have Lillipup raise his offensive ability, Whitney decisively said, “You make yourself stronger in one way, I’ll weaken you in another. Electroweb!”

 

Just as Lillipup’s red glow from Work Up was disappearing, Porygon’s beak began to spark with an electrical charge. It fired out a clump of electrified thread that spread into the shape of a web, draping over and shocking Lillipup.

 

“Lillipup, hang in there!” Olivia called out as Lillipup struggled out of the web. “That’s right, like that! Don’t be afraid of that Porygon!”

 

“I see what Whitney’s doing…” Nekou muttered to Bunny on the sidelines. “Slowing Lillipup down… that’ll make it harder for Olivia to keep a leg up on her.”

 

“Do you think Olivia will get through this?”

 

“Of fucking course I do,” Nekou beamed. “She’s tougher than to fall just because of such a trap.”

 

With great confidence, Whitney thrust her arm forward and commanded, “Foul Play!”

 

“That attack…” Olivia knew of Foul Play; she thought back to her training with Nekou, where she’d seen Nekou’s Zorua use it. Despite not fully realizing what it meant, she knew that when Porygon’s eyes glinted before it darted toward Lillipup, she knew it wasn’t a good sign. “Get out of the way, then use Crunch!”

 

Unfortunately for Olivia, she hadn’t realized the secondary effect of Electroweb yet. Lillipup wasn’t fast enough anymore to move himself out of the way, and Porygon tackled him with significant force.

 

“Hitting Lillipup with its own attack power…” Nekou mused, but she trailed off without finishing.

 

“Whitney sure has her bases covered with Porygon,” Bunny added, effectively completing Nekou’s thought.

 

Lillipup pulled himself up slowly. Once he was standing again, he realized his legs were trembling, and the fear that was sinking into his body finally struck his mind. He froze, but then he thought back to Olivia’s encouragement, which gave him a surge of energy. He could literally feel his trainer’s faith in him.

 

Abruptly, he lunged at Porygon, giving so little warning that it could not get away from him. He bit down on one of Porygon’s feet, sending a shockwave of pain through the virtual Pokémon’s body. Whitney gasped as her Pokémon lashed around in mid-air and cried out, desperately trying to shake off the opponent that so hurt him.

 

“Fuck yeah! You go for it, Olivia!” Nekou cheered.

 

“Porygon, you can’t stand for that!” Whitney screamed, her voice straining in her throat. “Get it off with Electroweb!”

 

With anger in his eyes, Porygon looked down at Lillipup – who was still latched on tightly to its foot – and produced another Electroweb. This one, though, was in too close a quarter, and ended up shocking both Lillipup and Porygon itself. After a moment, the electricity caused a small explosion that finally separated the two.

 

“I was right in what I thought of you, Olivia! You’re quite skilled. I’ll have to step up my game to stay in competition with you. Porygon, Conversion 2!”

 

In response to the Dark-type attack Lillipup had used against it, Porygon shifted the color of its body, this time to a metallic silver.

 

“…oh shit.” Nekou groaned.

 

“What?”

 

“Bunny, that Porygon just turned itself into a fucking Steel-type. I don’t think Lillipup has any attacks that will significantly hurt it now.” Looking away from Olivia, Nekou noticed a smile play onto Whitney’s lips. “That’s what she was hoping for, a Conversion 2 to the Steel type. I get it now… Steel is one of the most defensive types.”

 

Olivia recognized this fact, and took the most immediate action she could think of by calling, “Work Up!”

 

Feeling encouraged by how successful Crunch had proved against Porygon, Lillipup boldly growled at it, filling his muscles with further vigor. He punctuated this act with a loud, bone-chilling howl.

 

“Sticking with Lillipup…” Whitney briefly looked confused and seemingly stared past Olivia, but swiftly recovered. “I’m not sure if you know what you’re dealing with here, now that Porygon’s a Steel-type. Let me give you a taste. Foul Play!”

 

“Let it come to you, then use Crunch!”

 

Lillipup braced himself and bravely faced down the oncoming Porygon. Just as his opponent arrived, he opened his mouth and caught the front of Porygon’s body, then attempted to bite down into it.

 

Much to his shock, however, Crunch no longer worked. He could not get his teeth into Porygon’s body no matter how hard he tried. Olivia remembered the point about Porygon now being a Steel-type just in time to see it snicker at Lillipup and kick him back toward her.

 

“Whitney sure isn’t letting up, is she?”

 

Nekou and Bunny turned in surprise to find Matt sitting next to them. They both chuckled nervously as they realized they’d been so enraptured in the battle that they had not seen him arrive.

 

“So that’s what surprised Whitney just now…” Bunny reasoned. “How’d your battle go?”

 

“Let’s just say I had plenty of time to do other things before coming here,” he answered before turning back to the battle. “This is Olivia’s time now. Give her your attention.”

 

“Lillipup, can you go on any more?” Olivia said, her voice quivering with worry.

 

Though he stood up again, it was plainly obvious to all present that Lillipup couldn’t take much more. He was covered in scratches and burns, and his entire body was shaking. Olivia felt her eyes twitching, but with memories of her battle in Azalea Town fresh in her mind, she resolved not to cry.

 

“Lillipup… just do what you can. It’s not bad if you can’t win. Just do your best.”

 

Lillipup turned and gave Olivia a shaky nod. He agreed with her. He knew that while he might have been unable to defeat Porygon on his own, he would be weakening it for the next Pokémon on Olivia’s team.

 

Whitney saw the courage she was facing and stared in wide-eyed surprise for a moment, before simply closing her eyes out of respect for her challenger. “Not everyone who comes in this Gym has got the spine you have, Olivia… we’ve only just begun, and yet I feel like I should be honored to be in this battle. But…” Lashing her eyes back open, Whitney threw her hand forward again and shouted, “I won’t lose! Porygon, Icy Wind!”

 

“Lillipup, get through that! One step at a time!”

 

Porygon was unnerved by Lillipup’s endurance, and it felt several times any desire Whitney had to end the fight. Gathering all of its power, it set upon Lillipup with a powerful gust of freezing air.

 

Much to the surprise of both Porygon and its trainer, Lillipup stood fast against the cold, refusing to cede even an inch of ground to his adversary. Not only that, he was actually pushing slowly forward through the storm in direct defiance of all the pride-fueled anger Porygon was putting into it.

 

And then a blinding light flashed from the heart of the heart of the attack.

 

“Wha…” Whitney was finally truly speechless. She was only able to watch, her mouth open in utter shock.

 

“Well, well, well, what do you know,” Nekou said with a smirk, matching the one she saw Olivia gaining. “She got lucky again.”

 

“Yes!” Olivia squeaked at the top of her lungs. Even though she couldn’t yet see whatever it was Lillipup was evolving into, she fumbled out her Pokédex anyway.

 

_“Herdier, the Loyal Dog Pokémon. Type is Normal. Evolved form of Lillipup. This very loyal Pokémon helps trainers, and it also takes care of other Pokémon. It has black, cape-like fur that is very hard and reduces the amount of damage it receives.”_

 

The light exploded outward, dispelling Porygon’s Icy Wind. In place of Lillipup stood a larger, more outwardly confident canine Pokémon. The burst of cream-colored fur that had coated his face as Lillipup now formed a pair of bushy eyebrows and a makeshift moustache, while the dark-colored fur referred to by the Pokédex draped over his brown stomach and legs. He howled with newfound strength, making Porygon reel back.

 

“Keep going, Olivia!” Bunny shouted from the stands. “It’s not over yet!”

 

“First, let’s see what I’ve got now…” In a moment of prudence that surprised Matt but not the others, Olivia kept her Pokédex out for a moment. She was thumbing through the pages related to Herdier’s capabilities. “So two of our attacks got a little stronger… let’s show her one! Herdier, give it a taste of your Strength!”

 

“Porygon, Icy Wind!!” Whitney’s confidence was beginning to give way to desperation. The battle with Herdier had dragged on far too long for her liking, and she was beginning to get nervous that she didn’t have control of the situation after all.

 

Assuming the confidence its trainer had lost, Porygon locked onto Herdier with even more fury in its eyes and let loose with an Icy Wind of increased intensity. Herdier wasn’t shaken by it, though. He simply tensed his body up and then shot straight through the gust like a bullet, catching Porygon completely by surprise. Its Steel-type protection shielded him from significant injury, but Herdier’s impact against its body violently shook it.

 

Unfortunately, Herdier’s display of strength also snapped Whitney’s head back into her previous sense with a realization. “That’s your Achilles heel…” she uttered. “Porygon, finish this now with Foul Play!”

 

Consumed by violent urges directed at Herdier, Porygon appraised his new strength with a black glint in its eyes, then tackled him before he could prepare a defense.

 

Even with his newfound power, Herdier couldn’t stand against Porygon turning his own strength on him while suffering from everything else he’d taken. He collapsed on Olivia’s side of the battlefield, but just before going down, he shot her a proud look. Olivia thought she even saw him smile.

 

“Herdier is unable to battle!” Monroe announced. “The winner is Porygon!”

 

“That was rough…” Matt intoned, shaking his head.

 

As soon as she saw his action, Nekou grabbed Matt by the sides of his face and looked right into his eye. “Don’t do that!” she shrilled, apparently referring to him shaking his head. “She put up a hell of a fight!”

 

“You’re right. I have to admit that.” Matt’s genuine reversal was the only reason Nekou released him. “But what now?”

 

“She’ll pull through, I know it. Don’t doubt her.”

 

“Herdier, return.” There was great peace in Olivia’s voice as she brought Herdier back to his Poké Ball. “You did really well. I’m proud of you.”

 

“I am too,” Whitney commented. “You gave me a great fight there. Let me apologize now… Porygon gets a little too into competition sometimes.”

 

“Oh, don’t apologize for that, I appreciate the challenge. Now, I’ll try this! Let’s play!”

 

Olivia threw another of her Poké Balls, but the Pokémon that emerged was one that Matt never expected – a Mr. Mime. The Psychic-type Pokémon stretched his spindly arms then cheerfully started miming, seemingly ignorant of Porygon’s presence.

 

“A Mr. Mime?!” Matt exclaimed. “When did she…?”

 

“The Game Corner,” Nekou smugly revealed. “We did so well there that we got enough coins for a prize. That’s what she won.”

 

“I see you took advantage of the Goldenrod City tour this Gym sends you on,” Whitney said. “I’m glad to see it… and I’ll be glad to show you what this city’s Pokémon can do! Porygon, Electroweb!”

 

Olivia simply grinned and carelessly directed, “Protect!”

 

Spreading his arms and gesturing in Porygon’s direction, Mr. Mime created a barrier around himself that dispelled the electrified webbing, rendering it useless. Once he was safe, Mr. Mime dropped the shield.

 

“I thought you’d do that,” Olivia said. “You did it to the first Pokémon you saw that you thought would be faster, so I knew you’d do it again. This time is different, though. Mr. Mime, Mimic!”

 

Mr. Mime’s body flashed in a golden hue in response to this direction. It was simple, but deceptively so, and Whitney was all too aware of what it meant.

 

“Take my own attack away and turn it against me, will you? It won’t be that easy! Porygon, Icy Wind!”

 

Porygon realized the trouble it was in just as much as its trainer did. Knowing it likely wouldn’t last much longer, it turned all its remaining strength toward washing a freezing gust over Mr. Mime. He stood well against it, though some frost did develop on his body.

 

“Use Electroweb to wrap this up!”

 

Having temporarily learned Electroweb through his use of Mimic, Mr. Mime turned it on Porygon, lashing a thread of charged silk from each of the fingertips on one of his hands. The webbing tangled Porygon up on its own, but the electrical shock that the threads delivered finished it off. As the threads disappeared, it collapsed onto the floor.

 

“Porygon is unable to continue! The winner is Mr. Mime!”

 

“Well then,” Matt quietly said to himself as he crossed his arms, “looks like Mr. Mime was a good prize after all.”

 

Whitney recalled Porygon and readied her next Poké Ball before she spoke. “Not bad, not bad… but can you stand against my star? It’s showtime! Go, Miltank!”

 

Both Nekou and Monroe regarded the seemingly jolly-looking cow Pokémon with great apprehension when she arrived on the battlefield. Their views were for similar reasons – while Nekou was familiar with the notorious reputation of Whitney’s Miltank as a Pokémon that crushed the hopes of challengers, Monroe had lived it and barely come out on top. Both of them waited nervously to see how Olivia would handle it.

 

“Your star, huh? It should make a fun challenge. Mr. Mime, Electroweb!”

 

“Hmph… I’ll just go ahead, then. Miltank, Stealth Rock!”

 

Miltank got wrapped in the charged threads Mr. Mime threw over her, but she didn’t show much of an outward reaction to the power coursing through them. Even while tangled in the threads, she surrounded herself with bursts of light, which she quickly directed to surround Mr. Mime. The lights planted themselves in the ground and faded to reveal a number of pointed stone pillars.

 

“Alright, you did your job, Miltank. Pinch hit!” Olivia was quite surprised to see Whitney take out a Poké Ball and withdraw Miltank. As she threw the next ball, Whitney said, “Kecleon, go!”

 

The third and final Pokémon on Whitney’s team turned out to be one from Hoenn, as Olivia and her friends mentally noted. Kecleon voiced a low-pitched squeal and wagged her tongue in Mr. Mime’s direction as a way of announcing her presence.

 

 _“Whitney’s Pokémon sure have a lot of personality…”_ Olivia thought, tiring of the overwhelming characters she found herself against. Luckily, she was also aware of Kecleon’s capabilities, so she was able to quickly figure out a plan. “Hit it with Electroweb, Mr. Mime!”

 

“Kecleon, Incinerate!”

 

Kecleon was too slow to act, and ended up draped in the electrical net Mr. Mime cast over her. She spent several seconds being shocked by the threads before finally launching a stream of fire from her mouth. It burned through the Electroweb and flowed over Mr. Mime, leaving small singe marks all over his body.

 

Olivia stared at Kecleon and took note of a change she had anticipated – Kecleon’s skin was now yellow. _“Color Change… it’s another type change strategy,”_ she thought. Holding up her own Poké Ball, she said, “Alright, Mr. Mime, take a break.”

 

“So she’s switching as well,” Matt observed, leaning forward onto the railing in front of the seats. “Where are we going from here…”

 

“Watch and see,” Nekou replied, gesturing toward the battle with her head.

 

“The first Pokémon I caught for myself…” Olivia said to the new Poké Ball she held in her hand. “Not for him, for myself… I’ll get this right. Now… let’s play!”

 

Olivia put all the strength she had into flinging the Poké Ball. It released a bright ball of light, from which two pincers arose before it dispelled to reveal the Pokémon’s identity.

 

“Krabby…” he hissed, using his right pincer to shield his eyes from the bright lights of the Gym.

 

Almost immediately, the stones planted in the ground when Miltank used Stealth Rock started to glow, and an energy field they generated gave Krabby a brief shock. He quickly recovered, however.

 

“A Krabby?” Matt gasped. “But when…?”

 

“That day in Slowpoke Well,” Nekou answered, not even really waiting for a question. “That’s the result. Olivia caught that Krabby in Slowpoke Well.”

 

“She hasn’t used it before…” he fretted. “Is she certain this will work?”

 

“I’m sure she has a strategy,” Nekou said in great confidence.

 

Whitney was sure Olivia had a plan as well, and decided that she had to dispose of Krabby quickly. “Kecleon, be ready. I don’t trust it.”

 

“Kec,” Kecleon answered with a nod.

 

“Krabby, Mud Shot! Go!”

 

With surprising speed, Krabby dug his claws into the ground and then violently pulled them out, throwing a large clump of mud at Kecleon.

 

“Solar Beam!”

 

When Kecleon was hit by the mound of dirt, she reeled back, a result of Color Change shifting her type to Electric. Her skin turned brown, then her entire body began to glow from her absorbing light.

 

“Perfect,” Olivia said, striking a grin very reminiscent of one Nekou would have. “Dig!”

 

“No!”

 

Krabby jumped up into the air, turned his claws downward and began spinning, allowing him to pierce through the ground. Just after he disappeared, Kecleon fired a wide beam of light from her mouth, but with Krabby nowhere to be seen the attack was useless. Seconds later, Krabby burst out of the ground beneath Kecleon and struck her in the chin with his claw.

 

“Good job, Krabby!” Olivia called out. “Keep it up!”

 

“Come on, Whitney, focus…” the Gym Leader said to herself. “It’s a Water-type, so… Solar Beam!”

 

“This is what I was waiting for! Bubble Beam!” Olivia immediately countered.

 

There was barely time for Kecleon to start absorbing light again before she was harshly buffeted by the bubbles Krabby launched from his claws. As she had become a Ground-type through Color Change’s reaction to Mud Shot and Dig, she was especially weak to the Water-type attack. Every bubble left a noticeable bruise on her skin, and by the time the stream finally ended, she fell forward to the ground in defeat.

 

“Kecleon is unable to continue! The winner is Krabby!”

 

“Yes!” cheered the young trainer, basking in the admiration from her friends. “Good work, Krabby! I knew you’d go far!”

 

“She’s really doing well,” Bunny said. “Was she this good in Azalea Town?”

 

“No…” Matt answered gloomily, “but she’s really improved over the last few days. She’s grown up quite a bit.”

 

After recalling Kecleon, Whitney threw Miltank’s Poké Ball to release her into battle again. She then put her hands on her hips and said, “You’re doing very well here so far, Olivia, but now you’re going up against my star player. Are you going to hit one out of the park, or strike out? Show me right now!”

 

“Oh, I will! You ready, Krabby? Dig!”

 

“Alright, here we go! Miltank, Heart Stamp!”

 

As he prepared to burrow into the ground again, Miltank rushed Krabby and hit him with a crushing punch, her fist glowing with red light. Though he hissed loudly due to the pain radiating down through his body, he still managed to get underground. All that was left when Miltank pulled back was a heart-shaped imprint on the battlefield.

 

Not showing any sign of doubt, Whitney announced, “Stomp!”

 

Krabby burst from the ground and slashed Miltank across the leg. However, she was ready with her other leg raised, and forcefully brought her foot down on Krabby’s head. While Miltank was left nursing a gash on her leg, Krabby was already badly injured and trembling violently.

 

“Okay, fine, what about this?!” Olivia snapped. “Bubble Beam!”

 

“Heart Stamp!”

 

Before Olivia realized it, Miltank was upon Krabby once more. She put even more strength into her Heart Stamp than the first time, smashing him with everything she had. He managed to still stay conscious, however, and he showered her with a blast of bubbles from his claws. They all left small marks on Miltank’s body, but when the injury on her leg was hit, she stumbled back and cringed.

 

“Huh…” Olivia muttered when she noticed Miltank’s reaction. “Alright, go for its leg with Vice Grip!”

 

“I won’t let you!” A vicious sound came through in the way Whitney snarled, reflecting a sudden change in her mood. From her perspective, Nekou mentally attributed it to Olivia finding a weakness she could exploit, thus putting Whitney at a disadvantage. “Miltank, Rollout, now!”

 

Krabby rushing in with the intent to grab Miltank’s leg actually gave the Normal-type Pokémon a huge opening. She curled up into a ball and rolled forward, mowing over her foe. In her wake, Krabby was left unconscious and splayed out on the ground.

 

“Krabby is unable to continue! The winner is Miltank!”

 

“Rough…” Bunny mumbled.

 

Having had first-hand experience with Miltank’s power earlier, Monroe looked on in worry while Olivia recalled and consoled Krabby. Though he was rooting for her, he had a terrible expectation that she wouldn’t be able to win.

 

“Mr. Mime, let’s play!”

 

As soon as Mr. Mime hit the battlefield, the stone pillars activated their energy field again and shocked him. He stumbled and flailed his arms, but quickly shook it off.

 

“So this is it, then. Olivia, give it your best!” Smiling broadly, Whitney called out, “Rollout!”

 

Turning back to Olivia’s direction, Miltank gathered speed and rolled toward Mr. Mime.

 

“Electroweb!” Olivia swiftly ordered.

 

Mr. Mime bravely faced the oncoming Miltank and threw an Electroweb over her. She still took the shock it brought, but her speed allowed her to break through it fairly quickly on her way to colliding with her opponent. Olivia could only gasp and watch as her Pokémon was smashed backward several feet.

 

“I can’t take another one like that,” Olivia said to herself. She saw that Miltank was coming back around and even gathering even more momentum, a sight that was giving her increasing concern. Suddenly, she remembered something she’d learned once, and calmed considerably. “Use Protect!”

 

Miltank once again had Mr. Mime in her sights, but she ended up only hitting the shield Mr. Mime put up around himself. This completely broke her pace, and she was left to fall back to her trainer with her Rollout ruined.

 

“It’s alright, Miltank,” Whitney said. “Let’s see what happens next.”

  
The sparkle in her eyes made clear that Olivia was eager to show her what would come. “Magical Leaf!”

 

“You’re not putting me away this easily!” Whitney roared. “Stomp!”

 

Mr. Mime hung back, allowing Miltank to come to him. For her entire approach, he showered her with sharp, glowing leaves, cutting her body up in a number of places. Some of the leaves even cut into the gash on her leg, making it even more painful for her. She did her best to endure it and managed to reach Mr. Mime, though she could only stomp on his foot.

 

“Alright, throw it into the air with Confusion!”

 

The two Pokémon being so close to each other allowed Mr. Mime to look right into Miltank’s eyes. She struggled to get away when she saw them filling with blue light, but it was already too late, as she was in the grip of his psychic power. He lifted her several feet off the ground, then used his mind to throw her diagonally upward.

 

“Miltank, use this to build up momentum for Rollout!”

 

“I’m not done, Whitney!” Olivia said, her words accompanied by a toothy grin. “Pull it down with Electroweb, Mr. Mime!”

 

Mr. Mime lashed Electroweb threads around Miltank like whips. Even though she rolled up into a ball in preparation to use Rollout again, she still got shocked and slammed into the ground.

 

“She’s improvising… I’m impressed,” Matt admired. “That was practically a Contest move in terms of being elaborate.”

 

“Do it, Miltank!” Whitney’s voice was getting increasingly raspy as her emotions burned through into her voice more and more. “Rollout!”

 

“Protect!”

 

Whitney’s last-ditch attempt at a comeback with Rollout was useless, as Miltank simply bounced off of Mr. Mime’s shield again. Her slow wobbling backward in the aftermath of her failed attack gave Olivia the chance she had been waiting for, and with wide eyes and a great smile, she seized it.

 

“Use Magical Leaf! Direct it all to the cut on Miltank’s leg!”

 

Sharp pain shot through Miltank’s body with each one of Mr. Mime’s leaves that hit her wounded leg. It quickly clouded her mind and weakened her body, eventually bringing her to her knees.

 

Whitney was speechless. With Miltank immobilized, she couldn’t order any attack – Miltank simply did not know any that it could use under the circumstances. She was completely stuck, and Whitney realized that her Pokémon was a sitting duck for Mr. Mime’s finishing move.

 

“Alright, this is over!” Olivia pointed forward at Miltank and boomed, “End this with Confusion!”

 

Once more, Mr. Mime used his psychic power to surround Miltank in blue light and lift her. This time, he lifted her nearly all the way to the roof of the Gym, then smashed her down at incredible speed.

 

With the kind of force Mr. Mime had put into his assault, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Miltank briefly stood back up after being slammed to the ground, but her bruised, battered body could simply take no more and gave out on her.

 

“M-Miltank is… unable to continue!” Monroe declared, dumbfounded by what he had seen. “Mr. Mime is the winner, and the victor is Olivia!”

 

Within seconds of Olivia’s victory, Nekou had jumped the railing and run to embrace her. Matt, Bunny and Monroe followed, but at a slower pace.

 

“I’m so fucking proud of you, Olivia!” Nekou was actually almost crying while tightly hugging Olivia. “That was all you, and it was amazing!”

 

“Aw, thanks, Nekou… it felt so good to just put all my own skill into wanting to win...”

 

“That’s right, your win is your achievement,” Whitney said, approaching the group. “There used to be a time when I would have cried after losing, but not now. I’ve learned that my job as Gym Leader is to teach young trainers like you to do exactly what you just did. And you know, I’m proud of you too. It was great fun battling you. Here you go, you’ve earned this… the Plain Badge.”

 

Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Monroe looked on as Whitney handed the Plain Badge to Olivia. Once she had it, she looked at it in her hand, almost tearing up as her emotions overwhelmed her.

 

She thought of all the years she had dreamt of moments like this in a quest to get her father back, imagining that winning Badges would increase his favor of her. She thought of her mental breakdown in Azalea Town, and finally, she thought of everything she’d gone through to get to this point, where she’d won a Badge entirely for herself on her own strength.

 

For the first time on her journey, she felt truly proud of something she’d achieved, and after looking at how proud Nekou and the others were of her, she fully felt like she belonged there with her friends.

 

-:-

 

That evening, as the sun was beginning to set, Jessie and James stood on the roof of a building across the street from the Battle Factory. They were fully dressed in their trenchcoats, accessorized with dark sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.

 

“So there’s where they took him,” Jessie said, peering through her high-tech binoculars at the facility. “The Battle Factory… to think Polaris even controls a Frontier Society facility.”

 

“We’ll make good on our mistake,” James resolved. “Meowth, we’ll get you back, and we’ll get revenge on Polaris for what they did…”

 

-:-

 

At the same time, Looker and Silver were sitting in a small café, drinking coffee as they discussed what would come next.

 

“Silver… I am wanting you to return to the company of Matt Chiaki and the people he calls friend.”

 

“Why?” Silver growled, irritated. “I don’t want to put up with her any more than I have to.”

 

“That’s being just the exact thing. I am having to escort the prisoners Jacob Alexison and Grings Kodai back to the region of Kanto tomorrow, no matter what. Therefore, the job falls to your shoulders to observe their actions. I am having a feeling that is bad that something of great importance will soon be taking place within this city.”

 

“Fine, I guess I’ll seek them out. I’m not making any promises, though.”

 

“Good. Have remembrance – if you wish to obtain the revenge you are seeking on the Team Rocket and the man who is your father, having cooperation with me is of paramount importance.”

 

-:-

 

Late that night, long after most of Goldenrod City had gone to sleep, Giovanni and the other members of Team Rocket were still wide awake in their hideout. Everyone was present for the meeting, including Jessie, James, Proton, Rosalie, Trevor, Ada and Pierce.

 

“Where is she?!” Giovanni fumed. When he slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair, his Persian cringed next to him. “She said she’d be here!”

 

Ariana, after swallowing a gulp of coffee to wash down her medication, replied, “I’m sure she’ll be here soon. After all these years, Giovanni, you should have more faith in her.”

 

“Fine. But I don’t like how she pushes the line all the time. Tomorrow is going to be an important day… war might break out between us and Polaris, and I don’t want to even entertain the chance of a rude surprise.”

 

“I-I… I’m sure you have nothing to worry about, b-boss…” Ada whimpered. “I have faith in Lady N-Ne…”

 

Suddenly, a voice could be heard outside the door. Strangely, it was singing to itself.

 

“I’ve seen you on the beach and I’ve seen you on TV, two of a billion stars, it means so much to me…”

 

“Oh boy,” Trevor chuckled, adjusting the collar of the floral shirt that burst from beneath his uniform. “She sounds like she’s really going today.”

 

The door burst open, and the person in question walked in with great, confident strides. She slammed it shut with her foot, as her hands were busy fumbling with the music player she’d been using.

 

“Lady Nekou!” Ada exclaimed.

 

“It’s good to finally see you again too, Ada,” Nekou warmly said as her teammate jumped into her arms. As a further show of affection, Nekou kissed her on the lips before they separated.

 

“The boss isn’t happy with how late you are,” Pierce sternly informed her.

 

“Well I’m here now.” Turning to Giovanni, Nekou raised her arm and said, “Admin Nekou Langley Lalume reporting! Hail Giovanni!”

 

“Hmph, fine…” Giovanni grumbled. “Let’s get on with it.”

 

Nekou reached into her uniform and took out a memory card emblazoned with the Team Rocket logo, which she then handed to Ada. Ada in turn sat down at the bank of computers and inserted the card, causing data to fill the screens.

 

“Get around here, people!” Rosalie ordered. “This is the real thing!”

 

Once all the assembled Team Rocket members were gathered around the computers, Nekou began her explanation.

 

“This is everything I gathered during my mission,” she stated. First, a picture of Matt and relevant data to him appeared on the computers. “Matt Chiaki, grandson of archeologist Sutter Chiaki and guardian of Olivia Mistbloom. And way, way more involved in all that’s going on than he even knows.”

 

“What does that mean?” James asked.

 

“Well look who he’s the son of.” On Nekou’s cue, two more photos appeared. One was an old man with gray hair and red spectacles, while the other was a woman with blonde, helmet-shaped hair. “Charon and Fumika Chiaki, his parents. Charon Chiaki was better known as Pluto, one of the Commanders of Team Galactic, but passed away of old age three years ago. Fumika Chiaki, on the other hand… she was also a Team Galactic Commander under the name Mercury…”

 

“Mercury?!” Jessie cut in. “That’s the woman who stole Meowth! It was her!”

 

“You said someone from Polaris did it,” Proton said. “Are you really suggesting…”

 

“It could be true,” Nekou replied to the incomplete question. “We know that Polaris had moles inside Team Galactic to bring them down from within. And how do we know that? This one.” Joining the pictures on the screen was one of Cassy. “Cassy Natsuka. See, nothing looks wrong with her on the surface, and at first, she seems like just the typical possessive girlfriend. She met Matt Chiaki while they were both students at the Rustboro School, fell head over heels in love with him almost immediately. From the sound of it, she pretty much owned him for years. You know, typical possessive girlfriend shit like controlling his schedule and not letting others get too close to him. Thing is, she was also a Team Galactic member at the same time as Mercury… and I just found out that she is Séduire, one of Polaris’s Chromosomes. Her motive is to force Matt Chiaki to love her again, even though he likely never truly loved her at all.”

 

“You’re saying everything is connected through this guy you’ve been watching?” Even Ariana was becoming surprised at the way things were developing.

 

“You don’t even know all of it yet, Maman, you guys. Jessie, James, you might want to pay attention to this part. This…” A picture of the Battle Factory replaced all the others. “…is the Battle Factory, which is also Polaris’s Purine Base. I learned through audio and visual spying that its Frontier Brain, Thorton, is the Chromosome named Getriebe. And you know what? He was also in the Rustboro School at the same time as Matt and Cassy.”

 

“This is looking more and more like a bigger conspiracy than we ever expected,” Trevor mused.

 

“How do we even know we can trust this Matt Chiaki guy?” wondered Jessie.

 

“He’s the most harmless person I’ve ever seen. He could not be evil if he even tried. The thing is, he used to have an evil side that was yet another Team Galactic member. That side of him called itself Janus, and he was a scientist who worked in Team Galactic’s labs. In fact, it’s Janus’s fault that the Galactic Bomb exists. As far as I can tell, the last time Matt Chiaki relapsed into the Janus personality was five years ago during Team Galactic’s last stand. He was using a device to drain Dialga’s power, but it was shut down, resulting in his defeat. The red liquid that the power manifested as was accidentally spilled onto Olivia Mistbloom, but she seems to be healthy by all accounts despite this. I also became aware that during the extensive surgeries he had after his body was destroyed, he had Janus removed from his mind in a controversial, first-of-its-kind procedure.”

 

“So that’s what we’re dealing with…” Rosalie lowly said.

 

“Assemble,” Giovanni suddenly announced.

 

Without any dissent, the members of Team Rocket present lined up next to each other. Nekou stood with Ada and Trevor, whose uniforms were similar to hers, only that hers was mostly unbuttoned and accompanied by a short skirt, customizations made to suit her tastes.

 

“My followers, you must understand the severity of the threat Team Rocket currently faces. I ask of you, what is the primary goal of Team Rocket?”

 

“To capture the rarest and most powerful Pokémon!” Jessie instantly responded, as if it was programmed into her.

 

“We’ll assemble an army of those Pokémon and conquer the world!” James added.

 

“Correct. Polaris, however, aims to change our world in such a fundamental way that it is a threat to not only Team Rocket’s goal, but our very survival. Make no mistake, this is a war for our survival. We do not know what Polaris’s true goal is, but if they trigger a revolution, we will not be able to live in that world anymore. It’s with those stakes in mind that I give you your respective missions for tomorrow. Jessie, James, Proton, you are to attack Polaris’s speech and disrupt it, while recapturing Meowth as well. Pierce, you search for where Polaris is keeping the Meteonite so we can figure out how to capture it.”

 

“What should I do?” Nekou questioned.

 

“Continue on your observation of Matt Chiaki. Keep him from interfering in our plans.”

 

Nekou’s eyes brightened at the news. “I’ll be glad to.”

 

“Boy, you sure seem happy,” Rosalie teased. “What is it? Have you fallen for him? Done what you do to get intelligence from your targets?”

 

“Hahaha, fuck no. Not yet anyway.” Nekou licked her lips and added, “Give it time. I’ll get him to want it.”

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 13**

 

 

 


	14. Goldenrod City Under Siege (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polaris begins its mission with a great speech in Goldenrod City, but the conflict escalates when Team Rocket and the Tenganists interfere with the organization.

And here we go. I think some violent content and potentially disturbing imagery is all to warn for here.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 14:** Goldenrod City Under Siege (Part 1)

 

-:-

 

Deep beneath the temple Bunny had briefly visited, there was a vast network of caves. One such chamber within the depths of the temple opened up to a great subterranean lake, filled with clear, sparkling water that chilled to the touch. Huge stalagmites peppered the lake, rising up toward the impossibly high ceiling.

 

The Tenganist prophet stood between her followers and the water, slowly walking to each of them and setting a hand on each of their left shoulders. One of the other Tenganists followed closely behind her, carrying an ornate golden pot containing water taken from the lake. Before touching each follower, the prophet returned to the pot and wet her fingers with its contents.

 

“Carry the spirits of our brave ancestors inside your hearts,” she powerfully said, addressing them in a fashion meant to rally them. “Our people must once again rise up in battle to fight for our survival. Like the courageous warriors who came before us, we must fully believe in our cause. What we will do will be violent, and people will die, but we do not take this action because we want to. This is what we must do to save our people from extinction. We must strike against Polaris. We will strike them quickly and powerfully, then retreat with our spoils as quickly as we came.”

 

As she said the last line of her speech, the prophet looked to the side of the cave, where a Gardevoir and Gothitelle were waiting.

 

-:-

 

The next morning in Goldenrod City was a dim one, as the sky was blotted with clouds that diminished the sun.

 

Nearby the Pokémon Center was a grand hotel that stood taller than a good number of the buildings in central Goldenrod. Before he had gone over to the Gym from the Battle Factory the previous day, Matt had rented a suite, intending it as a surprise reward for Olivia after she won.

 

_“Goal! And with that goal, the Roshan Glaciers take a one to nothing lead, combining the strength of their Beartic’s goaltending with Cryogonal’s agile shots! After this break, we’ll see if the Dendemille Icicles can tie the score. You’re watching international Pokémon Baccer on GlobalNet.”_

 

Olivia and Bunny were sitting on the plush couch opposite the large plasma-screen television, but looked away as the sports they had been watching gave way to commercials. Matt’s coat was lying folded over next to them.

 

“Wasn’t that something?” Olivia beamed. “That Cryogonal’s spin shot… I’ve been watching Pokémon Baccer for years and that stuff always impresses me!”

 

“You’re right, Olivia, that was pretty cool,” Bunny replied, smiling.

 

Suddenly, a great crash pierced through the suite as the door flew open. Olivia and Bunny jumped off the couch, and Matt ran in from the small kitchen adjacent to the room.

 

What they found was Nekou lying face-first on the floor with a bottle in her hand. Simultaneously, they all grimaced.

 

“Well I know what you did last night,” Matt sighed.

 

“A night not spent drinking is a night wasted,” she slurred back, into the floor.

 

“I guess it’s good to have a motto,” laughed Bunny.

 

“Olivia, step back. Bunny, help me get her up.”

 

Following Matt’s direction, Olivia went back to the television, while Bunny joined him in lifting Nekou up from under her arms. They helped her stumble over toward another chair near the television, but they didn’t know what was inside their seemingly drunk friend’s mind.

 

The night of binge drinking was a complete lie. Nekou had only been drinking right before going up to the room, and she took satisfaction at how easy covering her tracks had been. In reality, she had spent the night at Team Rocket’s hideout at Ada’s request. As Matt and Bunny dropped her on the chair,  they had truly no idea what she had really done. She rationalized her baldfaced lie by telling herself that she was still acting to protect her friends, assuaging the guilt she did feel for misleading them so badly.

 

_“It’s tea time! The best water, the finest leaves, warmed at the right temperature… Striaton Brothers Tea. Have a taste today!”_

 

“That’s some good fucking shit…” Nekou groaned at the television.

 

“We’re not going anywhere now,” Matt asserted. “She’s got to get sobered up first, and besides, I have to finish working on my coat. The weather’s getting too cold for this body to take.”

 

“And I want to watch the rest of this Baccer match, anyway,” Olivia added.

 

“Fair enough. I don’t think any of us had any plans until meeting up with Monroe at the Department Store this afternoon anyway.”

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, on the same floor of the hotel and not far from Matt’s group’s suite, a beautiful woman with jet-black hair was sitting at her laptop, speaking to another individual on a video call. She was wearing a white bathrobe and drinking a cup of coffee as they talked.

 

“It’s today, like I said, Secc,” she informed the party on the other side of the call. “Polaris has publicized an event at the plaza outside the Global Terminal, to address the growing division between the poor and privileged. I intend to film as much of it as I can and maybe grab a few interviews if possible.”

 

“Fine by me, Rowena,” the young man on her computer screen replied. He brushed a lock of his green hair from his face, then adjusted the headphones he was wearing. “ONBS always seeks to broadcast the truth, and this story is something I’ve had my eye on since Polaris first entered the public sphere. With Marcia off covering stories on the other end of Orre, we have to rely on our freelancers, and you’re the finest one to ever file a story for us.”

 

“Of course, on that note, we have to talk compensation,” Rowena said with a wink.

 

“File the story and we’ll talk, but rest assured that if it’s the caliber of your previous work, the payment will be quite handsome. I understand you intend to reconnect with the source you used for the story on Everton International’s corruption?”

 

“Yeah, Matt Chiaki is staying in this very hotel. He had a rather nasty encounter with Polaris in Violet City, so I believe he’ll be worth interviewing again.”

 

“Do what your journalistic judgment tells you is right to get the story. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

 

Secc disconnected from the call, cutting off the video stream on Rowena’s computer. Seeing that her trainer was finished with her conversation, a Pokémon similar in appearance to Minccino but wrapped in luxurious white fur jumped onto Rowena’s shoulder.

 

“Cinci?”

 

“This is a big one, Cinccino,” Rowena gently said, scratching her Pokémon on the chin. “You and I are going to get a full-fledged expose on Polaris.”

 

-:-

 

Getriebe, Jeunes, Colress and Meowth had been joined by Zinzolin, who was facing Ghetsis via the main communication screen in the control room of the Purine Base. The Third Chromosome was reclining comfortably in a throne-like chair, leaning on his cane.

 

“You know what our message is, Zinzolin. This is the day when it reaches the people, and you have a vital role to play in that. I cannot stress that fact enough.”

 

“I understand, Lord Ghetsis,” Zinzolin answered, not flinching from bowing before Ghetsis despite how much it pained his back. “My speech is prepared. It would appear that there is significant interest in the event, as well, so I fully expect that everything will work out as we hope.”

 

“For your sake, I hope it does. Don’t leave me another mess I have to clean up myself.”

 

-:-

 

“Twelve o’ clock,” Ada announced to the others in Team Rocket’s hideout from her seat at the computers. “High noon…”

 

“It’s time to get started,” Giovanni declared, staring out over the city. “Pierce, you’re up first. Rosalie, give him his gear.”

 

Pierce remained rigidly still, so Rosalie guided her wheelchair to him. She handed him a device that resembled an electronic compass with a small computer attached to its bottom.

 

“That is programmed to detect even latent Meteonite energy,” the professor explained between puffs of her pipe. “You are to use it and track down where Polaris is keeping the large Meteonite they took from the Ruins of Alph. The upper portion is both a map of the city and a compass, so when you find the location, make sure to mark it down. That data will be transferred to our computers here, allowing us to begin planning a takedown.”

 

“You are to begin your part of the mission now, Pierce,” Giovanni added when he didn’t hear Pierce leave immediately.

 

A slight flush came to Pierce’s cheeks. He always stuck rigidly to rules, and everyone in the room knew it, but he had feared accidentally leaving during his briefing so much that he ended up missing the cue to do just that.

 

“Y-yes, Giovanni, sir!” he stammered, embarrassed at his failure to live up to his own standards, before turning and quickly leaving.

 

As the door slammed behind Pierce, Rosalie took notice of Ariana, who was sitting nearby and weakly propping herself up on the wall. Concerned, she rode over to the Executive to speak to her. Meanwhile, Jessie and James joined Giovanni at the window.

 

“Your part of this mission will begin soon as well,” he informed them. “Rosalie will be bringing you to prepare your equipment shortly.”

 

“We got it, boss!” Jessie determinedly replied.

 

“Meowth, you’ll be home soon…” James whispered, his gaze not breaking from the expanse of the city.

 

-:-

 

The trip to the Department Store wasn’t a long one, as it was directly across Goldenrod’s main street from the Pokémon Center and thus only a few blocks from the hotel. The day had turned dim as the hours passed, with more clouds gathering to completely block out the sun. As a result, the lights shining through the windows of the six-story building turned it into a beacon within the city.

 

Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia entered through the sliding glass doors and glanced around their surroundings. The store was packed with shoppers, making it difficult for them to find Monroe.

 

“Where did he say he was going to meet us again?” Olivia asked.

 

“By the first floor escalators,” Matt answered, looking around for a guide. “There’s got to be something here to tell us where everything is, an information desk or something.”

 

Their search was abruptly halted when a song began playing rather loudly right near them.

 

_“Cover me with kisses, baby, cover me with love, roll me in designer sheets I’ll never get enough… emotions come I don’t know why, cover up love’s alibi…”_

 

“Oh shit, that’s me,” Nekou realized. She pulled her phone from her uniform, looked at it, and found that it had a tab reading ‘accept holo clip.’ She started to walk away and said over her shoulder, “I have to take this. Go find Monroe and I’ll meet up with you.”

 

Needing a place that was quiet, Nekou slunk off toward the closed-off area in the corner of the lobby. She hesitated at the door marked with “Staff Only” for only a moment. Producing a blue card imprinted with the Team Rocket insignia, she swiped it through the door’s electronic lock to allow herself access to the dim hallway beyond.

 

She took several steps into the tunnel, then took out her phone again. However, before she could answer it, she was accosted from behind by a male voice.

 

“Hey! You can’t be in here!”

 

Nekou didn’t turn around to face the security guard immediately. A plan instantly took shape in her head, and the brief look of surprise she had gave way to a devious smirk.

 

“Oh my, officer, did I do something wrong?” As she turned, she put on her best seductive voice and glared at him through half-closed eyes. “Tell me. I was bad, wasn’t I?”

 

Clearly unnerved, the guard stammered, “Y-You can’t be back here. This is a s-shipping area. Staff only. You don’t have one of our uniforms so I know you aren’t…”

 

“And I think I’m already shipping you and me,” she whispered, continuing to draw closer to him.

 

“You won’t get out of trouble with this. I’m a happily married…”

 

Nekou was practically in his face now, and she was clutching one of the open folds of her uniform. He realized what she was intending to do and turned beet red.

 

“Then just have a quick look.”

 

She started to pull back the opening, but before the guard could see anything, a puff of light-blue vapor burst out. As soon as he inhaled it, he blacked out and collapsed.

 

“Sweet dreams, fucker,” Nekou grumbled, taking her phone back out. Before she answered it, she thanked her luck to have Rosalie on her side.

 

~:~

 

Before Nekou left the hideout that morning, Rosalie had pulled her aside to show her a small vial containing the light-blue liquid.

 

“I call this perfume Meromero,” the wheelchair-bound scientist explained. “It’s substantially derived from Mental Herb, with a dash of White Herb as well as liquefied Lax Incense extract added. Hit someone with one dose of it and they’ll be out like a light, but additionally, they won’t want to wake up easily because they’ll be dreaming of the person they’re most physically attracted to.”

 

“Neat,” Nekou said, taking the vial. She pulled open the right side of her unbuttoned uniform and attached it to a mechanism within, consisting of a small clamp and a tube that led to a spray device attached to the strap of her black brassiere. After fixing the one button she ever cared to close, she picked up a nearby beer bottle. “I’m sure I’ll put this to good use.”

 

~:~

 

When Nekou finally pushed the ‘accept holo clip’ button on the screen of her phone, the lens on its top generated a hologram of Giovanni in his chair.

 

“Lalume, what took you so long to answer the call?” he growled.

 

“Had to deal with an unforeseen interruption, boss. What’s up?”

 

Giovanni sighed and shut his eyes for a moment before speaking. “I have commenced the mission, so your role is now active. Keep Matt Chiaki and his friends away from Polaris’s event site. We cannot risk any interference. It has to be us against Polaris.”

 

“I think that ought to be easy to do.”

 

“Then go do it. I’ll communicate with you again at an appropriate…”

 

“Wait, before you go, boss… tell Rosalie that Meromero worked like a charm.”

 

“Fine.”

 

The hologram disappeared, and Nekou put her phone back in her uniform. She took another look at the sleeping guard, shrugged and straightened out her uniform before going back out into the lobby. She knew where the escalators were, so she immediately made her way toward them, hoping that Matt and the others would already be there.

 

Instead, she simply found Monroe standing there by himself.

 

“Nekou, you made it!” he said in a manner that was unusually cheery for him. “Where’s Olivia and everyone else?”

 

“Geez, you sure are hyper today,” Nekou sarcastically replied. She set her hand on her hip and looked around. “I guess they got turned around looking for you.”

 

Nekou’s words seemed to summon Matt, Olivia and Bunny, as they turned up as soon as she spoke. She stepped back, sighing to herself as she did so.

 

“Monroe!” Matt exclaimed. “We had a hell of a time finding you in this crowd.”

 

“Th-that’s okay,” Monroe said back, reverting into his usual nervous self. “A-as long as we all meet up with each other, right?”

 

“Come on, let’s just get going.” Olivia charged forward, in the direction that a nearby sign indicated would lead to the elevators. “I need to go find a new coat.”

 

Monroe flinched, but quickly recovered and followed her. Matt, Nekou and Bunny went after them, with Matt and Bunny chuckling to themselves about Olivia’s forceful mood. Nekou, on the other hand, simply chewed on a handful of potato chips she’d gotten from somewhere.

 

“So I guess I’m the only one who noticed Monroe blush before he followed Olivia?” she deadpanned.

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Matt, wait,” Bunny cautioned him. “She might be onto something. Didn’t you notice as we approached that he seemed comfortable talking to Nekou?”

 

“Come to think of it…” Matt rubbed his chin in thought. Bunny was right, but he hadn’t quite taken conscious note of Monroe’s actions before.

 

“Well it looks like Olivia’s got her first boy crushing on her!” Nekou suddenly and loudly exclaimed, making Matt and Bunny cringe with the volume of her voice. As she walked behind the others, though, Nekou was grateful that Olivia preferred to stay at the Department Store, as it made her mission much easier.

 

-:-

 

Down the street from the Global Terminal stood a two-story, gold-brick building whose sign bore the words “Magnet Train station” below an appropriate image of the vehicle. Looker and Silver were sitting and drinking coffee together in the small second-floor café near the boarding area. Their table was next to a row of large windows, permitting them an unobstructed view of the road below.

 

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this,” Silver said as he watched the flow of people toward the Global Terminal plaza. “How many do you think there are going to be?”

 

“If I was to work into myself giving an estimate… a number touching into the range of hundreds sounds like it is correct.” Setting down his smartphone, Looker shut his eyes and rubbed his chin. “And if the Team Rocket should make an appearance…”  


“Why do you think I insisted on coming with you?!” Silver snapped, slamming his fist on the table. “You’re the one here concerned about whatever those Polaris idiots are doing, but I just consider them bait. I know that Team Rocket won’t be able to resist showing up for this.”

 

“Do not be getting ahead of your own position,” Looker warned. “Action that is reckless will lead to only more problems…”

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, Pierce was making his way north, concealed by his own trench coat and following the signals from the device Rosalie had given him. He was near the line where the central city area gave way to the northern slum, yet the device urged him to go further still.

 

 _“They hid it where nobody would think to look…”_ he thought, seeing that the brightness of the readout was intensifying as he went into the slum. _“The attention of the poor in this city will be on their speech, making it easy for them to move something out of this area…”_

 

-:-

 

“So what do you guys think? You like it?”

 

Olivia was standing before Matt, Bunny and Monroe in the Department Store’s clothing shop. Having spent some time searching for something she could wear in the increasingly cold weather, she’d chosen a simple gray leather jacket.

 

“It’s… different,” Matt answered, “different for you, anyway.”

 

“I like it, though,” added Bunny. “What made you choose it?”

 

“I wanted something more simple, you know? It’s surprisingly warm, too.”

 

“I…I… I have something I want to say…” Monroe fumbled.

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t… don’t you think it clashes with your hair?”

 

Matt and Bunny looked to Monroe, confused by what he was saying. Olivia, on the other hand, actually seemed to understand. She walked to a nearby mirror and considered her appearance.

 

“You know,” she said after a moment, “I think I actually see it. I’ll have to let my hair down tonight and see how it looks.” Turning around, Olivia smiled at Monroe, making him nearly jump from his nerves. “Thanks.”

 

“I think it’ll look good.”

 

While Olivia had been considering her new look, Nekou had come out from the dressing rooms as well. She had replaced her uniform and kneesocks with a black, waist-tied trench coat of similar appearance and a pair of knee-high boots.

 

“You think so?” Olivia glowed in the praise her friend was putting on her. “Thanks!”

 

“Gladly.” Directing her attention to Matt, Bunny and Monroe, Nekou asked, “So what do you guys want to do now?”

 

Bunny opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by an audible gulp next to her. Looking down, she saw Monroe staring at the floor. He had his arms pinned to his sides, and his whole body was trembling.

 

“Monroe?”

 

“I…I…” After gulping again, Monroe took a deep breath, shut his eyes and forced himself into saying what he wanted to. “Olivia, I really liked your battle with Whitney and I want to know if you’ll go to a movie with me!”

 

Monroe’s face went bright red as soon as he coughed up his request, matched only by how flush Olivia’s turned. Matt and Bunny could only watch with their mouths agape, while Nekou, having been the one to figure out Monroe’s feelings first, just smirked wryly.

 

Slowly, Olivia approached Monroe, her every step sending a chill down his bones. He was already embarrassed but his fear kept rising until she was right in his face, staring into his eyes. To Monroe, it felt as if Olivia was staring right into his soul.

 

“Well of course you liked how I battled!” Olivia suddenly and proudly exclaimed, pulling back and shrugging her shoulders. “You’re nice enough, so sure, why would I say no? But I get to pick which movie.”

 

Feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders, Monroe gasped in relief and said, “Oh, of… of course. Your choice.”

 

“Olivia’s got herself a boyfriend!” Nekou playfully cheered as she threw herself onto Olivia and Monroe’s shoulders, nearly knocking them to the floor.

 

“Aw, Nekou, come on!” Olivia growled, her face turning red again. Though he didn’t speak, Monroe was similarly embarrassed.

 

“I’m just playing with you guys,” Nekou assured her as she rose back to her full height. “Come on, let’s hit the road.”

 

As the group started walking, Matt and Bunny looked at each other and smiled. They needed no words to communicate how happy they were that Olivia was reaching out to others.

 

Unfortunately, the peaceful scene wouldn’t last. As they stepped out of the clothing department, the sound from a nearby television caught their ears.

 

_“We’re seeing literally hundreds of people, many of them from the slums, flowing into the central area of Goldenrod City for Polaris’s speech. The best estimates are that a crowd of around three hundred is now gathered outside the Global Terminal…”_

 

Immediately upon hearing the newscaster’s words, Nekou became completely serious again. Even while the others just listened to the broadcast, she said, “It might get dangerous out there. Olivia, Monroe, go to your movie later. For now, let’s get something to eat here.”

 

“A-Actually, that’s a good idea,” Monroe said in agreement. “I’m kind of hungry.”

 

“There’s a burger stand I want to try in the food court here,” Matt piped up.

 

“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Nekou concluded. “Come on. They have TVs up there, so we’ll see everything that goes on.”

 

-:-

 

The newscaster’s estimate of about three hundred people in the crowd was fairly close to the actual number, and indeed, most of them were from the slums. Lysandre was also present as he had promised, standing out among the crowd due to his great height and well-tailored clothing. As he waited for the speech to start, he carefully scanned the crowd, looking to see if Matt and the others had shown as well. It disappointed him somewhat when he couldn’t find them.

 

Also in the plaza was Rowena, now concealing her identity behind a hooded coat and large, dark sunglasses. She was hiding in an alley near the crowd with her video camera out, Cinccino sitting on her shoulder.

 

The crowd was gathered before a makeshift stage set up in the plaza. Zinzolin stood behind a curtain on the stage, looking out at the audience he was to address.

 

“Lord Ghetsis’s expectations for this event were met,” he nervously mumbled to himself. After looking up at the clouds that provided him a rather ominous backdrop, he fumbled with the papers Ghetsis had written his speech on. He then reached to his collar and triggered a device hidden within, which generated a holographic prompter loaded with the same speech. Pleased that his equipment was working, he sighed in relief and stepped out from behind the curtain.

 

The response from the crowd was immediate, but it wasn’t the reaction Zinzolin was anticipating. He thought he would be greeted by cheering, but instead, the crowd’s loud chattering gave way to a silence that unsettled the elderly man. He flinched but quickly recovered and reactivated his prompter, which also had a microphone built into it.

 

“Welcome! Welcome, citizens of Goldenrod City!” Once he had begun speaking, Zinzolin started to settle into his comfort zone. While he was no master of giving speeches like Ghetsis – and he knew as much – he felt confidence in his ability to deliver Ghetsis’s words. “Each and every one of you deserves applause for coming this far. I know it was not easy for you, perhaps near impossible for some, but the calling of justice brought you all here today. As you know, my name is Zinzolin, and I am here as a representative of Polaris. I am here to speak to you today about the injustices visited upon you, who you should hold responsible, and what you can do about it.”

 

A murmur went up from the crowd. Zinzolin regarded it as a good sign – he knew that they were interested in the lead of his speech, which meant they were listening. All that was left was to sell his case.

 

“People of Goldenrod City, I ask you to look around yourselves. Are you pleased with the state of your city, divided as it is? Where we stand now, we are at the heart of this corrupt, diseased beast created by the Pokémon League! Why, just observe our surroundings as I speak to you.” The crowd was enraptured with Zinzolin already, and their collective gazes followed his sweeping gestures. “The Magnet Train station, where the wealthy and privileged who have oppressed you travel freely across these regions, while you are left with only your own feet… the Game Corner, where those people and their decadent families while away their time and ill-gotten money on frivolous games without a care in the world… the Radio Tower, which serves to further spread the siren song that calls our young people to the foolish path of the Pokémon League… and finally, I can think of no more perfect a symbol for the derelict, bloated order of the Pokémon League than the building right behind me, the Global Terminal. Behind me, hundreds if not thousands of Pokémon are traded daily by those who can afford the equipment necessary to capture them. Those individuals can easily acquire a wide variety of Pokémon from throughout the world, and every species they collect makes it easier for them to obtain even more. Not only that, it is those with the widest variety of Pokémon available to them that have the easiest way in this world. But what opportunity do those who are not permitted to even get their feet into the door have? That promise of false opportunity is what has led to the despicable status of this city! The facilities that benefit those who have grown fat on the backs of you, the people, are clustered in this neon hell at the center of Goldenrod City. Meanwhile, you are kept out of that opportunity, that gilded life, and exiled to the decrepit slums where you are neither seen nor heard! But today, that will change! Today you will be seen and you will be heard!”

 

That last proclamation was what it took to finally get the reaction Zinzolin had expected all along from the crowd. A great cheer rose from the people, one that showed they were hungry for more of what Zinzolin was feeding them. Before moving to the next point in his speech, Zinzolin took a moment to bathe in the eager adoration of the crowd before him.

 

“Yes, you know it all to be true! For decades, generations now, this regime known as the Pokémon League has kept you down. Through all matters of media, they present to you an idealized image, a dream, of life under their control. Pokémon Master…” Zinzolin coughed scornfully before continuing. “I must scoff at the very notion. We see media telling you day in and day out that all you need to reach a life of luxury is belief… belief in yourself, but more wickedly, faith in their leadership. They will give you everything, they claim… free care at the Pokémon Centers? A lie, such benefits are reserved only for the privileged few who qualify for a Pokédex. How about Poké Marts stocked with all the resources trainers could ever need? Another lie. The products sold to trainers at these corrupt establishments are by and large rationed in favor of those with more Badges. Good point about that, let’s talk about Badges for a second. To get a Badge, you have to defeat a local Gym Leader in a Pokémon battle, as you all already know. Of course, you are all smart enough to see the problem with this. To have the best chances of defeating Gym Leaders, you must have the leg up offered to only those already in the upper crust of society! And of course, these Gym Leaders… they are contributing to the culture of corruption keeping you in second-class status! We of Polaris have come here before you to present the truth that has been hidden, and we urge you to rise! Join us and make your voices heard! Tell the Gym Leaders and the Pokémon League that you will soon be at their doorsteps!”

 

By this point, Zinzolin was getting so worked up that he was becoming short of breath, but the growing noise from the crowd afforded him a chance to recover. He gestured for calm and was met by just enough of a decrease in volume to allow him to continue.

 

“So in order to ensure that their rule is unchallenged, the Pokémon League has rigged the system to make it nearly impossible for the average person to capture powerful enough Pokémon. Polaris… we intend to change that.” Zinzolin turned and called out, “Meowth, it’s your turn!”

 

As Zinzolin turned back to the crowd, Meowth slowly shuffled out from behind the curtain. He moved with deliberate steps until he was parallel to but still several paces behind the old man.

 

“This Meowth is an example of our work,” Zinzolin explained. “We now possess an artifact of incredible power, one that will soon allow us to awaken the true strength within each Pokémon. When that day comes, we will give the Pokémon we strengthen to those of you who join our cause. Stand alongside us and we will give you the tools to change your lives! We will give you what the Pokémon League has kept out of your hands for generations! And when that day comes…”

 

All of a sudden, a number of blue fireballs descended from the sky in a ring, settling around the stage. The Will-O-Wisp attack was followed by several blades of air striking the stage, forcing Zinzolin to stumble backward and away from Meowth. When he looked up, he saw a Swoobat and Cofagrigus descending from the sky, and moments later, four laser beams shot down from above the clouds to surround Meowth. A box of light formed around him when the lasers faded.

 

“Th-those Pokémon…” Zinzolin stuttered. “Who is so bold as to do this…?”

 

“Do you really need to ask that question?”

 

“If you really want to know, the answer is here!”

 

Behind Swoobat and Cofagrigus, who were laughing at Zinzolin, Jessie and James –still wearing their trench coats, hats and sunglasses - descended using jetpacks strapped to their backs.

 

“Prepare for trouble, soaring from the sky!” Jessie shouted to the assembly.

 

“And make it double, over the earth it flies!” James enthusiastically added.

 

 _“You can NOT be serious…”_ thought Zinzolin.

 

Not caring what their foe thought, the two Team Rocket members continued their motto, with Jessie saying, “To protect the world from devastation!”

 

“To unite all peoples within our nation!”

 

“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

 

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

 

With that, Jessie and James tore off their disguises, revealing their customized black Team Rocket uniforms underneath.

 

“Jessie!”

 

“James!”

 

“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”

 

“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!”

 

While Jessie and James struck dramatic poses in the air, the crowd looked on in disgruntled silence. Zinzolin gazed at them in a cold fury.

 

“How dare you come here!” he roared, finding a new strength in his voice. “You two are the prime example of what goes on unchecked in this failed society!”

 

Ignoring the old man’s rant, Jessie said, “It sure felt good to do that in front of them, but don’t you think something was missing?”

 

“You’re right, Jessie. Meowth was missing…” Turning down to the stage and its occupants, James took a deep breath and yelled, “He’s missing because you Polaris creeps took him from us! And we’re here to take him back!”

 

“Do you really think you can take me on after the lashing Mercury dealt you?” Zinzolin scoffed, pulling a Poké Ball off his coat. “Cryogonal…”

 

“Dusclops, Rock Tomb!”

 

All of a sudden, a flurry of stones flew from somewhere in the crowd and crashed onto the stage, extinguishing Cofagrigus’s flames but locking Zinzolin in tighter. A Dusclops rose from the assembly, holding Proton by the shoulders, and floated toward the stage.

 

“Rock Tomb, once more!” Proton called.

 

More rugged stones materialized around Dusclops, and when her eye flashed, they started to rain down.

 

Zinzolin growled and quickly lashed one of his Poké Balls toward the threat. “Weavile, Ice Shard!”

 

As soon as she burst from her ball, Weavile brought her claws together and launched a series of sharp-edged ice chunks toward the Rock Tomb. When they hit the stones, both attacks exploded into dust. Though they’d been shocked still so far, when the explosion rang out over their heads, it was like a switch was thrown in the minds of the crowd.

 

Three hundred people turned and attempted to flee the Global Terminal plaza as complete chaos broke out. Zinzolin didn’t care. His mind was filled with rage, all directed at Jessie, James and Proton.

 

Rowena retreated slightly into the alley, avoiding the flood of people just beyond her hiding place. Her resolve to continue pursuing the story quickly returned, though, and with a new burst of courage, she approached the crowd again and grabbed at the first arm she could reach, pulling its owner toward her. It turned out to be the homeless trainer Team Rocket had helped.

 

“Who are you?” he coughed as he stumbled into the alley.

 

“A reporter,” Rowena answered. “I want to ask you some questions when this is over.”

 

The trainer shrugged. “I guess I can do that.”

 

“Good, thank you. Now to just finish recording this…”

 

Rowena returned to her vantage point, catching the fight just in time to see Zinzolin’s Weavile fighting Proton’s Dusclops while his Jynx and Cryogonal struggled with Swoobat and Cofagrigus. The entire plaza was coated in a thin layer of snow and ice from the attacks being carelessly thrown about.

 

“Cofagrigus, use Toxic Spikes!” James ordered as he flew out of the way of a Shadow Ball from Jynx.

 

“Cryogonal, take them out with Frost Breath!”

 

Cofagrigus swept his four arms out, throwing forth several sharp traps glowing with poison, but Cryogonal immediately countered by exhaling an icy wind over them. The spikes ended up frozen within the ice as they fell to the ground, sealing in their toxicity and rendering it useless.

 

“Shadow Ball!” both Jessie and Zinzolin shouted in unison.

 

While Swoobat and Jynx’s attacks met in a midair explosion, Looker, Silver and several others – including Lysandre – were watching the chaos from the second floor of the train station.

 

“I knew they’d show up,” Silver growled. “It’s go time.”

 

“It is that it is,” Looker responded, frantically dialing a number with his phone. “Greetings, it is I, with the codename of Looker! I am needing warrants of arrest for the members of the Team Rocket, as their plea bargain has been violated!”

 

 _“Calling up the data on Team Rocket right now, Agent Looker, please stand by…”_ a female voice said on the other end of the call. The sound of a computer keyboard clicking could be heard, followed by an audible gasp. _“A-Agent Looker… there is… there is no logged data of any crime for any of them! According to our database, the members of Team Rocket are completely clean!”_

 

“What?!” Looker nearly crushed the phone in his hand, and he had screamed so loudly that everyone in the room was staring at him. “How is that possible to be happening? The Team Rocket… cleared of all crimes?!”

 

“What the hell did you just say?” roared Silver. He was so overcome with rage that he put his hands on his head and pulled his own hair. “Impossible, I won’t accept it! Just arrest them for what they’re doing now!”

 

Putting away the phone, Looker stared out the window and said, “If they haven’t been acting to violate the plea bargain we gave to them… then what are they happening to be doing, precisely?”

 

“Are… are you actually serious? Disrupting the peace, if nothing else!”

 

Looker rubbed his chin, images of the past flashing through his mind. “Polaris’s speech event was occurring to already disrupt that peace, though… and that man named Zinzolin… he is still wearing on his self the crest of the Team Plasma and working with the man named Ghetsis… I am not trusting the situation. Not to be mentioning, the Team Rocket did not harm anyone called a civilian. They only targeted that Meowth, which I am being able to tell you for quite certain does belong to them. I want to see how this will end up being played out…”

 

Seeing that he was getting nowhere with Looker, Silver went back to fuming and watching the battle.

 

“Jynx, use Avalanche! Cryogonal, team up with it and use Flash Cannon!”

 

Leaving Weavile to spar with Proton’s Dusclops on her own, Zinzolin focused his attention on Jessie and James. His Cryogonal and Jynx aligned with each other and then delivered their respective assaults; the latter sent a rain of icy boulders toward her enemies, while the former fired a single ray of bright, silvery light from its mouth.

 

“Air Slash!”

 

“Shadow Ball!”

 

Swoobat and Cofagrigus weren’t afraid, however, and they met Zinzolin’s offense with a spirited counterattack. Swoobat cut down the ice chunks with blades of air lashed from her wings, while Cofagrigus drifted right in front of Cryogonal’s Flash Cannon and used a Shadow Ball to nearly completely block it.

 

Much to Zinzolin’s surprise, Jessie and James then recalled Swoobat and Cofagrigus, and after recalling his Dusclops, Proton flew up on his own jetpack alongside them.

 

“What are you doing now, you Team Rocket cowards?” Zinzolin shouted up into the air. “Are you surrendering?”

 

“Oh, we’re not surrendering,” Jessie smugly said.

 

“You might call it more of a tactical retreat…” added James, “…with our spoils of victory!”

 

“Stop being theatrical,” Proton warned them. “We’re at the endgame of phase one. It’s time.”

 

“Got it.” Putting her finger to her ear, Jessie called out, “Yoo hoo, Wobbuffet!”

 

A great roaring sound filled the air, and when Zinzolin looked up past the Team Rocket members, he saw the clouds beginning to part. Stunned, he could only watch as a hot-air balloon equipped with jet boosters on its basket descended, piloted by Jessie’s Wobbuffet. It was only when he saw the red Team Rocket insignia on both the metallic blue basket and the dark purple balloon itself that Zinzolin truly realized how coordinated the attack on the speech was.

 

The laser cube containing Meowth began to rise off the stage, heading for the bottom of the balloon’s basket. This snapped Zinzolin out of his daze, and he gestured wildly to Weavile.

 

“Don’t let them get away!” he snapped. “Destroy that balloon with Blizzard!”

 

“Oh no you don’t!” Jessie countered. “Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!”

 

Weavile aimed her icy blast squarely at the balloon itself, but it met resistance when Wobbuffet, glowing brightly, jumped from the basket. As soon as the Blizzard hit Wobbuffet, its energy enveloped him, only to be blasted back moments later, and Weavile was cut down by the counterattack.

 

While Zinzolin tried to regroup, Jessie recalled Wobbuffet and landed in the balloon’s basket with James and Proton. The laser cube had also reached and attached itself to the bottom of the basket. Jessie and James leaned forward and waved at Zinzolin.

 

“Well then, toodle-oo!”

 

“We’ll see you soon!”

 

Using not only the boosters on the basket but a larger one installed on the back of the balloon itself, the craft surged back into the clouds and vanished, leaving Zinzolin alone with his exhausted Pokémon.

 

“I just can’t catch a break,” he sighed to himself, already dreading whatever punishment Ghetsis would level out. Looking around, he realized just how empty the plaza had become, and seeing no further point in staying himself, recalled his Pokémon and fled for a car hidden behind the stage.

 

Meanwhile, in the train station, the argument between Silver and Looker was coming to a boil.

 

“You saw it, you have to arrest them!”

 

“Yes, I did indeed happen to be seeing it, but I cannot say I support that conclusion.”

 

“Why?!” Silver raged, stomping his foot on the tile floor. “They’re criminals, just as much as that Team Plasma is!”

 

“That they are. But we just were seeing and witnessing them not harm anyone who is not also a criminal suspect. They were attacking only the stage and struck a retreat after taking something that rightfully was precisely their own.”  


“So what?”

 

“They may be worth taking and bringing in… but first, I want to see with my own eyes their interactions with the Polaris group. They may be leading us to the answer regarding greater mysteries.” Adjusting his tie, Looker then said, “Some civilians may have taken on injuries in the plaza. Let us go inspect for such cases, then I will have to be departing for Kanto.”

 

-:-

 

_“Things appear to be returning to normal following Team Rocket’s attack on the speech being given by Polaris. Stick with us throughout this breaking news story as it unfolds…”_

 

All of the televisions hanging over the Department Store’s packed food court were tuned to the news, and an unsettling quiet had set into the shoppers, who had seen the entire incident from the beginning.

 

“What is all of this…” Matt murmured, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “I’m getting really nervous about Polaris. Did you hear those things Zinzolin was saying? Especially after he attacked us in Violet City…”

 

“And Team Rocket, too…” Bunny said, her voice low and wavering. “I don’t know if you know about this, but a few years ago in Unova, there was a war between Team Rocket and Team Plasma, the group Zinzolin and Ghetsis used to lead. If that’s still going and is coming to Johto, we might get caught up in the middle of it…”

 

“You’ve got to ask yourselves the hard fucking question,” Nekou chimed in. She was visibly tense, and was boiling with anger internally, though Bunny had no idea it was what she said that caused it. “Who is worse here, a gang of common thieves or actual fucking terrorists who are trying to overthrow the government?”

 

“I guess you have a point there…” Matt mumbled into the table.

 

“But on the other hand,” Olivia piped up, “How do we know it’s as simple as it looks? What if this is a trick, and they’re working together?”

 

If it had been anyone other than Olivia saying that, Nekou would have attacked them on the spot. She had to restrain her reaction to what she considered an insulting implication, keeping her rage in check by breathing heavily and clenching her fists so tightly that her palms bled slightly.

 

“Not everything has a conspiracy behind it, Olivia,” Nekou said, managing a fairly gentle tone. “I think what we saw on the TV was what really happened.”

 

“You’re right.” Turning away from her friend, Olivia slumped in her chair. “But this is just so scary, all of it... is what they’re saying true, that so many people have it that bad? Am I really that well off?”

 

“Yeah, I’m a bit scared too,” Monroe said in glum agreement. “My dad’s job has made my life pretty easy, so my sisters and I could be targeted…”

 

“So you’re in a similar position as me, then,” Olivia commented.

 

“But, Monroe, do you consider yourself better than others because of your comfortable life?” asked Nekou.

 

“No…”

 

“So then at least from a moral standpoint, you’re fine. Now, honestly, I think now that all fucking hell isn’t breaking loose out there anymore, we should stop obsessing over things we can’t help and go about our business.”

 

“So you are capable of good ideas,” Matt joked. Nekou looked at him with a start, but quickly caught on and laughed. He took out his tablet and asked, “Olivia, Monroe, you guys still want to go catch a movie, right?”

 

“Yeah!” they both said together.

 

“Then let’s have a look…” Thumbing through movie directories on the screen, Matt noticed something that he thought Olivia and Monroe would like. “There’s a showing of _Fossil Island_ in a little while at the movie theater in this very Department Store.”

 

“Oh, that sounds fun,” Monroe beamed, his usual nervous demeanor disappearing briefly. “But… O-Olivia, if you don’t…”

 

“I probably would have chosen the same thing, so don’t worry about it.”

 

“Good! Then you two have fun, and Bunny and I can go visit the Name Rater about Ayin… Sigilyph’s nickname. Nekou, are you coming with us or going to the movie with Olivia?”

 

Nekou sighed and shut her eyes. “I’m tired. I just want to go back to the hotel and rest.”

 

-:-

 

As the evening sun began to sink in the sky, Pierce found himself at his destination. The radar had led him deep into the northern slum, to a nondescript warehouse with a cargo truck parked outside.

 

“Got you,” Pierce said to himself. He touched the radar device’s screen at the point where its readings were most intense, marking the warehouse with a small Team Rocket logo.

 

All of a sudden, he heard the sound of tires screeching up the street. Concealing himself behind a dumpster, Pierce watched as Zinzolin’s car tore up and parked next to the truck. The old man climbed out and quickly entered the warehouse, but Pierce was still able to catch a clear sight of him.

 

“And there’s the smoking gun. Caught you red-handed, Polaris.”

 

-:-

 

Jessie and James backed through the doorway of Team Rocket’s hideout, the latter using the R-Pad to guide the laser box containing Meowth. Once they were all inside, Jessie stopped walking abruptly, causing James to crash into her.

 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, James!”

 

“If you didn’t stop behind me, that wouldn’t have happened.”

 

“Both of you, quiet!” Giovanni commanded, with Persian meowing to punctuate his speech. “I see you got Meowth back here safely.”

 

“Good work,” Rosalie complimented, “I’m impressed. Now…”

 

After placing a container on her lap, Rosalie moved her wheelchair toward Jessie and James. Once she reached them, she handed the cube to Jessie, who opened it to find a single blue rock.

 

“That’s a Chargestone we had left over from Unova,” explained the scientist.

 

“I know,” Jessie sharply replied, “we mined those for Dr. Zager.”

 

“Well, in that case, just put it in the cube with Meowth. We have a small trigger inside the Chargestone to manipulate its energy flow, and your R-Pad has a program to control it. Some exposure to the Chargestone’s energy will reverse the effects of the Meteonite’s energy on Meowth.”

 

“Let’s get to it, then.” By tapping several buttons on the R-Pad’s screen, James caused the top of the laser box to disappear.

 

Jessie took the Chargestone out of its case and dropped it into the box, where it rolled over next to Meowth. She then nodded to James, who closed the container again, then activated the device within the Chargestone.

 

The rock sparked to life with an electrical glow. Its light got brighter and brighter as it discharged more energy, forcing Jessie, James, Giovanni, Rosalie and the other Team Rocket members to cover their eyes. At its most intense point, Meowth could be heard screaming, and shortly after that, the light began to fade.

 

The laser box, left cracked by the intensity of the energy, shattered and dropped Meowth to the floor. Jessie and James watched him, barely able to contain their anticipation.

 

Finally, he slowly stood up, rubbing his head. “Ugh… where am I? What happened?”

 

“Meowth! You’re back to normal!”

 

“We finally got you away from Polaris!”

 

Meowth turned around and saw Jessie and James. Realizing what had happened, he jumped into their arms, and the three of them all started crying in joy.

 

“You two guys really saved me!”

 

“We can’t terrorize Polaris if we aren’t a trio!”

 

“James is right, and now we can even say the motto the right way again!”

 

“G-Giovanni, sir?” Ada piped up from her seat at the computer terminal.

 

“What?”

 

“We… we’ve confirmed that the Magnet Train has departed from the station…”

 

“Very good.” Turning to Jessie, James and Meowth, Giovanni said, “Pierce isn’t back yet, so you’ll have to go after the Meteonite…”

 

“…b-but it’s not the train we were watching.”

 

“What?” Ariana ran up next to Ada so she could look at the computers.

 

“I’ve been watching RChannel for the signal, and… a-and there, you can see it. ‘I missed my train, what can I do until the next one leaves tomorrow?’”

 

“It’s a trap,” Ariana growled. “They knew we would be watching them. I don’t know how, but they did.”

 

“Rosalie, contact the Tenganists,” Giovanni directed. “Tell them to call it off.”

 

“Got it.” Rosalie hit several buttons on the arm of her wheelchair, opening a hologram window that displayed ‘audio only.’ “Come in, this is Goldenrod…”

 

What neither Rosalie nor Giovanni were expecting was to be met with static.

 

“Come in, this is Goldenrod!” Rosalie repeated.

 

There was no response. The silence sent a chill down Rosalie’s spine, and behind her, Giovanni scowled and leaned on his arm.

 

She turned her head and nervously said to him, “Sir, we can’t get them to respond… we might not be able to stop this…”

 

“So be it,” Giovanni growled. “We’ll have to take what losses happen and go to a backup plan…”

 

-:-

 

“Cordelia, huh?”

 

“Yeah, he thought she would like it and she did.”

 

Matt and Bunny were walking out of a shop on the northern end of the town’s central area, discussing the renaming of his Sigilyph.  They were so engrossed with their conversation that they didn’t notice Rowena step out in front of them until they had nearly walked into her.

 

“Oh, sorry about…” Matt cut his apology short when he saw the face of who he was talking to. “Wait, you…”

 

“It’s good to see you again too, Matt, Bunny,” Rowena said with a slight bow of her head.

 

“You’re the reporter from Whitegold City, aren’t you?”

 

“Rowena, right?” Bunny guessed.

 

“You got it. I came out here to report on Polaris’s speech, and when I found out about you being here, I wanted to conduct an interview with you about it. You had quite the encounter with them in Violet City, after all.”

 

Matt chuckled nervously, then put Cordelia’s Poké Ball away and scratched the back of his head. “I guess I can do that. Sorry for almost walking into you… and sorry for forgetting your name, too.”

 

-:-

 

Back at the hotel room, Nekou had tossed her clothes about the bronze-colored bathroom so she could soak in the tub. She had placed pots of incense around the room and sprinkled flower petals in the water, all to help her meditate.

 

“I can’t lose myself to… that… again,” she said out loud, taking deep, cleansing breaths. “For Olivia’s sake, I have to control it.”

 

Between the hot water and the pleasant scents she’d surrounded herself with, Nekou did what she could to relax her mind. As she sat and soaked, she did her best to push everything out of her head, knowing that it would be the only way to reach her dark, violent side without degenerating into it.

 

She sat in the tub, breathing and meditating, for around an hour before she found something deep in her mind. It wasn’t clear to her what it was, just that it gave her a very uncomfortable, nervous feeling.

 

_“So you came without being about to die for once, huh?”_

 

“The fuck? Who said that?” In truth, Nekou knew who it was. The voice she heard in her head was her own voice, just with a more hissing, feral tone.

 

_“You know me. Or is it just uncomfortable to see what kind of a monster you really are?”_

 

“Oh, I know I’m a monster. But what fucking right have you got to take over my body like you own it?”

 

_“Because I do own it, you dumb bitch. Why do you think I’m so deep inside of you? You know, just worked nice and deep in there… at the core of your being…”_

 

Nekou sank lower into the bath. She knew that the entity in her mind, her berserk, animalistic side, was right.

 

_“As much as you want to deny it, it’s true. Everything about you is a lie. Lies you built around yourself to hide from what you really are.”_

 

“Fuck you. Why am I arguing with voices in my head again? Just shut the fuck up and behave. I’m in charge, not you.”

 

_“Oh, ouch. As always, you’ve got quite the sharp tongue. But you know, you’re the one who should be behaving. The reason you get so violent every time I come out is because you keep struggling to control me.”_

“No, fuck you. Stop taking over what belongs to me.”

 

_“You’re so trapped in your illusion that you don’t see how truly deep the shit you’re in is. You want to stop having problems with me? Give yourself up to me then. I see everything you want, don’t worry. I’ll take everything you want. You’re a monster, so start acting like one. I would have just broken the glass and taken that coat today. You just don’t get it…”_

 

“No, no, no!” Nekou screamed, pulling at her hair in anguish. She could feel her muscles beginning to tense and swell, a fact that made her realize she was losing control. “Shut the fuck up! Just stop it!”

 

Ignoring her pleas, the voice kept on, _“We’ll have to find somewhere to live, too. There’s plenty of rich assholes in this city, we can kill one and take his shit and nobody would be any the wiser. Of course, we’d need to surround ourselves with things we like, too. Maybe we can take that guy you’ve got your eye on and that girl and make them ours, whether they like it or not…”_

 

“Shut the fuck up!!”

 

Regretting having ever tried to reach her vicious side deliberately, Nekou flipped over and hit her head against the side of the tub in a desperate attempt to escape. It didn’t help, as she could hear the twisted version of her voice laughing at her in her head.

 

Suddenly, music filled the room.

 

_“Cover me with kisses, baby, cover me with love, roll me in designer sheets I’ll never get enough… emotions come I don’t know why, cover up love’s alibi…”_

 

The ringing of her phone, which had been sitting on the side of the tub, snapped Nekou out of her increasing insanity. As she flopped back over in the water again, she thought she heard the voice one last time.

 

_“I’ll see you again…”_

 

Pushing the whole thing out of her mind as much as she could, Nekou sank down in the tub until the water was at her neck, then hit her phone, activating the hologram function. Another projection of Giovanni materialized just in time to see her reaching for a beer can on the other side of the tub.

 

“Drinking again?” he sighed.

 

“Oh come on, I’m off the clock now. Cut me some slack.”

 

“No, Lalume, you aren’t,” Giovanni reproached her. “Polaris found out about our plans somehow and sent a decoy train. The mission isn’t over.”

 

This news prompted Nekou to sit up slightly. “Well, shit. Did you manage to at least call off Pierce’s friends?”

 

“No. They cut off contact. This is about to get much, much worse. Be careful.”

 

“What’s…” Nekou paused to take a nervous sip of beer before finishing her question, “what’s our move now?”

 

“Stand by. I will have more orders tomorrow.”

 

-:-

 

A three-car train sped over the plains on its way into Kanto under a clear, early night sky. Aboard were Looker and several other International Police members, with two prisoners in their custody. Looker was riding in the back car with Jacob, while in the middle car, the other officers were holding a rigid-faced man with disheveled blue hair and a matching beard. From their car, Looker and Jacob could hear the prisoner ranting out loud.

 

“I see Ecruteak City burning… and I see this region falling to its knees… listen to me, we’re all going to die!”

 

Looker sighed. “That man, whose name is Grings Kodai… he is still thinking he can see his vision into the future?”

 

“We’re all going to die, listen to me! There’s going to be a big explosion, and, and…”

 

“Wait…”

 

“Alexison, you should best keep your mouth shut.”

 

“No, I’m serious.” Though he couldn’t move much due to being handcuffed to a rail, Jacob stared straight at Looker with a fire in his eyes. “Listen to what he’s saying.”

 

“They’re going to bomb the train!!” Kodai screamed, under the audible sounds of the officers trying to calm him.

 

“Looker, if you’ve never thought about anything I say before, do it now. There might be something to what Kodai’s yelling about. He did see the future at one time.”

 

Looker considered what Jacob was telling him. He couldn’t deny his prisoner’s passion for what he believed, but Looker wasn’t sure what to make of it. Standing, he walked over to a phone and picked it up.

 

“Hello, this is codename Looker in car three. That is what they all call me, yes. Did you manage to happen to sweep the train for anything of suspiciousness before we departed? …I thought so.”

 

“What did they say?”

 

“This train does not have one spot against its record of safety…”

 

In a cruel fit of irony, within seconds of Looker’s statement, a great explosion rocked the train. The bombs weren’t on the train itself, but on the tracks, decimating them just in front of the speeding vehicle. With no chance of stopping, the train plummeted off the destroyed tracks and crashed into the ground. The locomotive at the front split into two parts from the impact, while the middle car smashed into it at an angle and broke apart as well. As for the third car, it slammed into the back of the second, destroying the side that was attached to the rest of the train. Looker and Jacob were violently thrown across the car, the latter taking the broken bar his handcuffs were latched to with him.

 

As smoke rose over the Kanto countryside from the combination of the bombs and the destroyed train, a thick fog suddenly began rolling in. Several men and women emerged from the fog into the site of the crash, accompanied by a Gardevoir and Gothitelle. Both Pokémon had their eyes glowing as they used their psychic power.

 

“What a mess…” one of the women uttered.

 

“The Prophet’s words are absolute,” another said. “We aren’t targeting anyone but Polaris, and we have to fight if we’re going to survive.”

 

One of the men stepped forward and clasped his hands together. “Transcend the confines of time and space! Show me the terrain!”

 

The Tenganists waited in silence for the results of their survey of the area. The man using his Transcendence took several minutes to complete the task, but when he did, he was visibly unnerved.

 

“The Meteonite isn’t here… and these aren’t Polaris members, they’re the International Police…”

 

“Oh damn it!” another man shouted before taking out a handheld radio. “It was a trap! We bombed an International Police convoy train!”

 

“Polaris figured us out,” the Prophet said through the radio. “Are there any survivors?”

 

“Two in the back car,” the man who had scanned the area reported. “Everyone else is gone already…”

 

“Take the two who survived and bring them back,” came the order. “Retreat before Polaris finds you. We’ll have to heal the survivors and talk to them.”

 

Several of the Tenganists made their way to the wreckage of the third car, where Looker and Jacob were unconscious on the floor. They pulled the two survivors up and dragged them out of the train. With nothing more at the site for them, the Tenganists then fled back into the fog, and once they had disappeared with their Pokémon, the fog lifted, leaving no evidence they’d been there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 14**

 


	15. Goldenrod City Under Siege (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Goldenrod City is paralyzed by protests, Polaris secretly makes its move to get the Meteonite out of the city. However, Team Rocket attacks them, leading to a chain of events that threatens to destroy Goldenrod City.

Violence and some disturbing scenes are going to be in this chapter.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 15:** Goldenrod City Under Siege (Part 2)

 

-:-

 

The air in the cave beneath the Tenganists’ temple chilled the Prophet’s skin to the bone. Sitting alone with her child by the water, she was aware of how her skin was covered in goosebumps, but she was paying it little mind. She was too busy mentally berating herself for falling into Polaris’s trap and bombing the wrong train.

 

She was curling up against a large rock when a booming voice echoed through the cave at her.

 

_“I knew you were going to take dramatic action, but what you’ve done… allying your side with Team Rocket...”_

 

Though the voice was harsh, the Prophet did not show any fear. Instead, she stood up and coldly stared across the underground lake.

 

“You knew when we met that my people would be doing what is necessary to survive.”

 

_“You can survive by staying here, where Polaris cannot find you. That is what I have been doing.”_

 

“You don’t seem to understand the position we’re in. Polaris will find this place one day. We cannot hide here forever, and that includes you.”

 

A figure appeared in the shadows over the lake, rising out of the water. _“Fight if you must, but do not drag me into Team Rocket’s affairs. I will not fight alongside you if that is the path you take.”_

 

“I hear you say that, but I question if you truly feel that way. When we met we looked into each others’ hearts and minds. We both saw what Polaris did, respectively, to us. What I am doing is a necessary evil. I don’t care what becomes of me after this is over, but right now, I can only do what I must. I know you understand that.”

 

The figure did not immediately respond, though the Prophet could see its tail flicking around in the shadows.

 

_“I cannot say that you are incorrect in saying that. I have not, however, made my decision on if I will join your cause yet. Your decisions are making that very difficult for me. I will abandon you if I decide you have become driven by the same motives that drive Team Rocket and so many other selfish humans.”_

 

“That’s fair. I won’t force you. But I do think that when you look inside yourself and weigh what is happening, you’ll see why I have to do this. I believe I’m right, and I also believe that you will come to see my point of view in time.”

 

There was no further response from the shadowy figure, but the Prophet had little chance to pay it much mind. One of her followers had rushed into the cavern and was now panting for breath with his hands on his knees.

 

“What is it?” the Prophet questioned. “What are you in such a hurry for?”

 

“You better get up here. They’re starting to wake up and Alesia can’t take much more.”

 

“Alright.”

 

The Prophet followed her disciple into the dim, narrow stairwell that led upward from the cavern, remaining close behind him as they walked. Small oil lamps on the walls provided the only light for them, leaving them to ascend carefully.

 

They ultimately came out in a larger cavern where many of the Prophet’s followers had gathered with their Pokémon. Jacob and Looker, both still unconscious, were laid out on tables while Alesia stood next to them with her hands clasped. She had sweat rolling down her face as she strained to heal the two men with her power.

 

A small gasp escaped the Prophet’s mouth when she saw how far Alesia was extending herself. However, before she could take more than a step toward the healer, another of her followers approached and thrust a phone into her hands.

 

“As soon as we reestablished contact that thing started ringing off the hook,” she explained, bowing nervously to the Prophet. “They don’t sound happy about what happened.”

 

Quickly realizing what she was about to face, the Prophet put the phone up to her ear and said, “Hello?”

 

“You didn’t maintain contact.” It was Pierce’s voice on the other end, and he spoke coldly, with little anger actually coming through on the surface. “That was the deal. And because you broke it, you ended up bombing the wrong train and killing a bunch of officers. Tell me how exactly that’s supposed to help either of us.”

 

“We suspected a trap, that’s why we cut contact. We just thought it would be them monitoring our communications, not them sending a decoy train. And I’ve told you already, my fate at the end of this is not what I’m concerned about.”

 

“What you should be concerned about is if you even last to see that fate. Those bombs you used? Those were Team Rocket technology. If those get traced back to us and Polaris makes the link between Team Rocket and the Tenganists, well, for lack of a better term we’re all fucked. You think that Chiaki kid and his little group can stop Polaris alone?”

 

At the mention of Matt, the Prophet flinched but recovered quickly. “Whether or not he can… that’s not what I have to worry about right now. The next operation is just going to have to go better than the last one. I’m busy, I can’t keep talking to you right now…” The Prophet briefly moved the phone away from her ear, but decided she had more to say and put it back. “Oh, and ‘that Chiaki kid?’ Pierce, you’re younger than him, and I can tell you that for a fact.”

 

After hanging up on Pierce, the Prophet gave the phone back to the follower who had brought it, then finally walked over to Alesia. Just as she arrived, Alesia could force her power no further and collapsed against Jacob’s table.

 

“Are you okay?” the Prophet asked, extending her free hand to Alesia.

 

“It… it wasn’t easy…” Alesia pulled herself to her feet with the Prophet’s help, but didn’t let go of her hand. “I’ve never had to push my Transcendence like that before…”

 

“It’s okay now. You did what you could.”

 

“They’re fine, though… a little banged up still, but I managed to heal their major injuries. It was just… really hard to heal two people at once.”

 

“Ugh…” Jacob’s groaning alerted Alesia and the Prophet to his awakening. He stirred on the table, at first shifting his his body and then slowly opening his eyes. “Where… where…”

 

“Jacob Alexison.”

 

Upon hearing his name, Jacob forced himself to sit up. Even though he couldn’t see her eyes under her hood, he felt a chill from her gaze when he looked at her. “Where am I? And who are you people?” He gasped when he turned his head and saw Looker. “Is he dead?”

 

“No, I assure you. Alesia here used her Transcendence to heal both of you.”

 

“T-Transcendence? Does that mean you people are…” Jacob’s voice dropped to a nervous whisper as he realized just who he was speaking to. “Did you bring me here to kill me? Was that what happened on the Magnet Train? If that’s what this is, please, just do it. I’ve lived long enough with the memories of what happened to your people all those years ago.”

 

“So you do remember…” The Prophet stepped closer to Jacob and lowered her head. “Our bombing of the Magnet Train wasn’t aimed at you. You were caught in the crossfire, and I apologize.”

 

Jacob was stunned by her expression of remorse. “But if you weren’t trying to kill me… who was that bomb meant for?”

 

“Polaris. We are most of what’s left of the Tenganist people after one of their officials, a man called Ghetsis, waged a campaign of extermination against us. We are fighting for survival.”

 

The Prophet turned slightly and began stroking her child’s head, leaving Jacob time to absorb what she had told him.

 

“Ghetsis… Harmonia. Even as a prisoner I’ve seen his broadcasts… and as a historian, I know of his ancestors’ animosity with the Tenganists.”

 

“Then you understand the severity of this situation, Jacob. Now… you asked where we’ve brought you. Perhaps a more apt question would be where we’ve brought you back to.”

 

What little color there was in Jacob’s face drained away as the meaning of this statement dawned on him. “This place… is this…”

 

“A place where we are safe from Polaris, even if just for now. The Sinjoh Ruins… what remains of the Tenganist holy land after Saeko Oryo’s sin.”

 

-:-

 

On most nights, Goldenrod City shined under the light of the moon and the stars, and that night was no exception. As usual, the central area glowed like a beacon, while the slums were bathed in the dimmer hues of what little electricity they used.

 

That is, the slums were bathed in their light until, one by one, the buildings started to go dark. Within minutes, Goldenrod City had become a bright core within a ring of darkness.

 

The residents began filtering from their buildings as the power went out. When they looked around, they saw that their neighbors were also without electricity. Only the moonlight and the excess light bleeding over from the city’s center kept them from being completely in the dark.

 

-:-

 

The next day brought a bright, clear sky, not only over Goldenrod City but over Ecruteak City as well. Ghetsis would never have known, however. Having disposed of the bodies of the Wise Trio, he was holed up in the temple just outside Bell Tower. Once he and the Shadow Triad had ensured they would not be disturbed, they set up Ghetsis’s throne-like chair and a large video screen, which he was using to meet with Zinzolin.

 

“Zinzolin…” Ghetsis coldly said, “...you had a very simple task. Present the speech I wrote for you to the people of Goldenrod. Yet you couldn’t even get that done correctly?”

 

“I’m sorry, Lord Ghetsis! Please forgive me! I didn’t anticipate Team Rocket…”

 

“Do not give me that excuse. It was a public function in a city where the Chromosomes had been reporting rumors of Team Rocket activity, and on top of that, you had their Meowth! You should have had a contingency plan in case of their interference! Consider yourself lucky Getriebe and Jeunes had a plan for dealing with them when it came to the Meteonite. I can see it’s a good thing you weren’t trusted with that too.”

 

“What… what should I do now?” Zinzolin nervously asked.

 

“Return to our base camp and prepare for the next operation. That is all I have to say to you.”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

Once Zinzolin disappeared from the screen, Darkness appeared next to Ghetsis’s throne.

 

“Lord Ghetsis… how do you plan to punish Zinzolin’s failure?”

 

“I don’t. The punishment he has earned is the fear of worrying what will befall him when he gets here. Sometimes fear is a far more potent weapon than force, don’t you agree?”

 

“Yes, you are correct. What are my orders?”

 

“Make sure Anthea and Concordia continue to decipher the seal on Bell Tower’s true power. Make sure they give you everything. We need full understanding of the Tenganists’ witchcraft before we begin. If they give you any trouble, inform me immediately so I can give them some… persuasion.”

 

“What of Pestilence and Chaos, then?”

 

“Tell them to maintain their guard of Professor Elm. We need him until then, too.”

 

-:-

 

“Giovanni, sir, I have a report!”

 

Ada was standing before Giovanni, who regarded her with a questioning look as he continued scratching Persian’s head.

 

“Tell me what you have, Ada.”

 

“W-well, Boss…” Ada stumbled over to her laptop, which was sitting open on the nearby table. “I’ve… well, I’ve been monitoring all the intelligence reports coming in from our inside man, and I think I’ve arrived at a conclusion regarding Polaris’s plans.”

 

“Very well.” Lifting his head toward his other followers, Giovanni commanded, “All of you, assemble!”

 

Jessie, James, Meowth, Pierce, Trevor, Proton and Ariana all clustered around each other near Giovanni so they could hear Ada’s report. The only one not to join them was Rosalie, who continued mixing some sort of substance in a small jar even as she watched and listened.

 

“Proceed,” Giovanni said to Ada.

 

Ada shivered under all the attention that was fixed on her. She gulped, attempting to calm her nerves at least slightly, then said, “W-well… according to what I’ve gathered, Polaris is planning to send the Meteonite out on the Magnet Train today so it can be picked up part of the way there and carried to its destination. But the thing is, they’re going to try to draw our attention by sending a ship out in the opposite direction toward their Adenosine Base. I… I think they want to try tricking us into attacking the ship with all our forces, assuming that we’ll think the Meteonite is aboard.”

 

“They must think keeping the Meteonite is a more important priority than keeping the location of the Adenosine Base a secret, which tells me how important it is we stop them from getting it to its destination. Do we know what the ship will actually be carrying?”

 

“Boss, as far as I can tell, it’s a cargo ship. It’s taking Pokémon that were used in experiments at the Purine Base to the Adenosine Base.”

 

“Then there is still some worth in attacking it.” Giovanni pointed to Jessie, James and Meowth and ordered, “You three, go with Ariana and attack the ship. Dr. Zager will help you coordinate the mission.”

 

“What about equipment, sir?” James asked.

 

“Don’t you worry about that,” Rosalie interrupted, riding up next to the others with the closed jar in her lap. “We’ve taken care of what you’ll need in that department.”

 

“We’ll make you proud, Boss!” exclaimed Meowth. “Count on it!”

 

Turning to the others, Giovanni continued giving his assignments. “Trevor, Ada, Pierce, your mission is to follow the train, disrupt the transfer and capture the Meteonite. I want you to begin surveillance on the Magnet Train station immediately.”

 

“We’re on it,” Pierce said.

 

Ada and Trevor joined him, the former clutching her laptop against her chest, and the three of them left the room together. Giovanni next directed his attention to Rosalie.

 

“Rosalie, I want you to begin the process of dumping all the data we have here onto storage. We’re going to leave here for Olivine City.”

 

“I’ll get right on that, Giovanni.” As the others began to go about their work, however, Rosalie first went to Ariana. “Here,” she said, handing Ariana the jar from her lap, “drink this. It won’t taste good but it’ll keep you together until I can give you a proper exam.”

 

“Thanks.” Ariana opened the jar and, without hesitation, swallowed its entire contents. The thick liquid tasted foul, as Rosalie had warned, but it caused an intense burning sensation in Ariana’s throat as well, making her twist her face. “Oh, fuck, that was…”

 

“I warned you. The mixture of herbs I had to put in that was never going to be pleasant.”

 

Ariana coughed, trying in vain to clear the taste from her mouth. “I guess that’s what you had to do… ugh, at least I can work.”

 

-:-

 

Rowena was sitting in the dark in her hotel room, working at her computer. She had her camera hooked up to it so she could edit the footage she had shot the previous day.

 

“Polaris’s cause… Team Rocket… how do they fit together?” After stopping briefly to sip at the coffee she had on her desk, she continued musing, “This is some great footage either way. Not every day you get to see two groups have it out like that. Secc is going to be…”

 

The sound of an alarm from her computer snapped Rowena to attention. Seeing a flashing icon in the corner of her toolbar, she selected it, opening a news window.

 

As soon as she saw what the window said, she kicked her chair out and sprang up. The noise startled Cinccino, who jumped up on the bed and watched as her owner rushed to the dresser and began fumbling with her clothes.

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, in their room, Matt and the others were gathered around a table for the breakfast he’d prepared.

 

“So what do you want to do today, Olivia?” Nekou asked between bites of the bread she held.

 

“I don’t know, actually. My main goal here was to get the Plain Badge, now that I’ve done that…”

 

“How about the Battle Factory, then?” When Matt brought the subject up, Nekou started glaring at him, but he didn’t notice her. “I think that’s about the only business we still have to wrap up in this city…”

 

“No!” Nekou shouted, slamming her hands down on the table and abruptly standing up. “You can’t go there!”

 

Matt, Bunny and Olivia all stared as a result of Nekou’s outburst, but only Bunny put any words to her thoughts. “Why shouldn’t we go to the Battle Factory, exactly?”

 

Nekou froze. She hadn’t been thinking, and as a result, she’d put herself into a corner. “Uh, fuck… well… Matt, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think your friend Thorton might be a member of Polaris.”

 

Though she still had no story to go with, Nekou knew that what she had said would stall for time. When someone started banging on the room’s door, she sighed and relaxed, knowing that whoever was on the other side had gotten her out of trouble.

 

“Matt, I know you’re in there!” Rowena shouted from the hallway. “Open up! We have to talk now!”

 

“I’m going to have to talk to you later about Thorton,” Matt said to Nekou before running to and opening the door.

 

Rowena stumbled in, clutching her computer against herself, and Cinccino dashed into the room right after her. When she looked up at Matt he saw a panic in her eyes that sent a chill down his spine.

 

“What happened? Why are you so worked up?”

 

“Turn on…” Unable to catch her breath quickly enough, Rowena started toward the couch in the main part of the suite instead.

 

“Turn on?” Bunny wondered aloud.

 

“Just look.”

 

Rowena picked up the remote from the couch’s armrest, pointed it at the television and turned it on. She then gestured for Matt and the others to join her, and they did. A news report was running, though they’d cut in on the middle of it.

 

_“-mpeding travel throughout Goldenrod City. What’s it like down on the streets in the middle of this?”_

 

The screen switched from showing a newscaster in a studio to a reporter on the street. When he saw what was going on in the background, Matt nervously adjusted his glasses and leaned in closer to the television.

 

“...the fuck?” Nekou blurted out.

 

 _“Well, as you can see, the protests that have spread throughout the city have grown in intensity since this morning,”_  said the reporter as he gestured to the crowd of shouting people behind him. _“These protests have sprung up at major junctions all across Goldenrod City, effectively bringing this entire area to a standstill. I have with me someone who is involved to explain further about what exactly is going on.”_  

 

The shot pulled back, allowing another man to enter the view next to the reporter. Though he wasn’t dressed particularly poorly, his heavy green sweater wasn’t the type of thing a resident of central Goldenrod would typically wear.

 

_“Now, as I understand it, you came from your home in southern Goldenrod to protest here. Can you explain to us why?”_

 

 _“Well, one, our power’s been off ever since last night.”_  With a slight sneer that only Nekou picked up on, he added, _“But I’m sure you know that.”_

 

_“Alright. I’d like to ask you next about the protest itself. Are you here protesting to get your power back on?”_

 

_“No. Well, not only for that.”_

 

_“What’s the other reason?”_

 

_“Don’t you see? I was at the Polaris speech yesterday. Quite a few of us were. Less than twenty-four hours later, the power in all the areas of the city that speech was meant for goes out? No, I don’t believe in that kind of coincidence.”_

 

“I did a quick overview of the city using the available satellites,” Rowena said, switching the television off. “They’ve gathered at several critical junction points, namely the one between the Pokémon Center and Department Store, the one leading to the train station, Radio Tower and Global Terminal, and the one near the Gym that leads out of the city.”

 

“Those points…” Bunny uttered, her voice lowering to a nervous whisper. “It’s a systematic shutdown of the entire city. If the people think their power was shut off to retaliate for the Polaris event, that could be what’s going on. It’s the classic poor versus rich scenario playing out on a huge scale.”

 

Matt, Olivia and Rowena were paying attention to Bunny’s explanation, but Nekou wasn’t. A much more serious matter was on her mind. “This is a distraction,” she finally said.

 

“What do you mean?” Matt asked.

 

Nekou sighed, realizing there was no way she could avoid telling any form of the truth any longer. “Look, I’m going to level with you. I know what happened at the Ruins of Alph.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Bunny sharply said, flinching slightly at the memories the topic brought. “Dante and I were there, the only thing we saw were Unown…”

 

“You missed the bigger picture. I’ve been watching Polaris’s activities for a long time now. They were there at the Ruins of Alph looking for a Meteonite - a big one, much bigger than any of the ones we’ve seen so far. When they found it deep in the ruins and fucked with it, they caused the Unown to go insane and send you and Dante to… wherever you guys ended up. Not only that… remember the Drilbur and the other Pokémon in Union Cave? That was the same Meteonite fucking them up as the Unown.”

 

“I don’t understand.” While Rowena shook her head, Matt, Bunny and Olivia just stared at Nekou in disbelief. “What does that have to do with today?”

 

“Polaris brought the Meteonite here, that’s my point. I think these protests are being stirred up to distract from them trying to move it to somewhere else.” Nekou turned abruptly and pointed at her friends. “You three, you’ve seen the fucking chaos the small Meteonites cause. Imagine if Polaris took that big one for themselves. Once they get it out of Goldenrod City, it could end up anywhere. Who fucking knows what they could do with power like that? It would be anarchy on an epic scale.”

 

“So what you’re saying is we have to stop them?” ventured Olivia.

 

Nekou smiled broadly. “Now that’s what I want to hear.”

 

“Alright, I think I’m on board with this,” Matt added. He looked to Bunny, who nodded her own assent, then said, “If we’re going to do this, we need a plan.”

 

“Wait. Didn’t you say that the protests were near the Pokémon Center?”

 

“Yes, Olivia,” Rowena replied, “that’s one of the hot spots.”

 

Turning to the others, Olivia said, “You know we have to go get Monroe first, right?”

 

“So you do have a crush on him back, huh?” Nekou teased. When Olivia started turning red in embarrassment, she quickly said, “No, don’t worry, I’m just joking. Getting into the Pokémon Center from here won’t be simple, but I know a way we can use.”

 

-:-

 

Finansielle’s personal plane was flying over northwestern Kanto, heading toward the mountains. In her office, Finansielle was speaking to someone on her smartphone while rocking back and forth in her chair.

 

“You sure you’ve searched the entire site?” she questioned.

 

“Yes, Lady Finansielle,” a female voice answered from the other end of the call. “Our team’s covered the entire bombing site, plus the entire wreckage of the train itself. We can confirm all aboard died in the explosion and crash, except for two…”

 

“What?” Finansielle shot forward in her chair and slammed her free hand on the desk. “Let me guess. Jacob Alexison survived, didn’t he?”

 

“Y-yes, Jacob Alexison is currently missing, as is the International Police agent Looker.”

 

Finansielle learned back in her chair and tightened her grip on her phone. Her eyes briefly shimmered, but she quickly shut them and took several breaths to calm herself down.

 

“L-Lady Finansielle?” the other party to the call nervously said.

 

“It’s no matter,” Finansielle replied, reopening her eyes. “I expected that this would happen. Tell your team to finish up their cleanup of the site and pull out as soon as possible.”

 

“Right away, Lady Finansielle!”

 

The call disconnected, and Finansielle casually tossed her phone onto her desk.

 

“Associating yourselves with a convicted murderer isn’t a good idea for your image, my friends,” she said out loud to the room.

 

-:-

 

After the group left the hotel, Nekou had led them into the alleys between buildings as a way of avoiding the main streets. Without her guidance, they would have been lost in the mazelike passages, but Nekou seemed to know exactly where she had to go and led them without hesitation.

 

“The Pokémon Center is coming up right over here to the left,” she said.

 

Right after she said that, the familiar facade of the Pokémon Center appeared exactly where she’d said it would be.

 

Matt laughed softly to himself. “I don’t know what kind of craziness I’ve gotten into with you, Nekou, but I have to say I’m kind of enjoying it.”

 

“Now what?” Olivia swiftly demanded. “How do we get in? We can’t go around front…”

 

“You know, Olivia, you have a point.” Bunny gestured with her head toward the main street, where the shouting from one of the protests could easily be heard, even in the back alleys.

 

“There’s a back door,” Nekou revealed. “Lucky for us, huh?”

 

Nekou rushed to the door she’d described, but when she tried to turn its handle, she realized it was locked. She turned her body slightly to hide the handle from the view of Matt, Bunny and Olivia, who had followed her. After that, she quickly swiped her Team Rocket access card through the lock’s scanner to undo it.

 

“Come on, let’s go,” she said as she pulled the door open and urged the others through. She was silently thankful that they’d not noticed how the door was initially locked.

 

The door led to an empty hallway in the Pokémon Center. A nearby map mounted on the wall revealed that they were as far from the lobby as they could be, but they had a direct route there and immediately ran off toward it.

 

 _“I guess I fucked my mission up,”_  Nekou thought. _“I couldn’t prevent them from ending up right in the middle of this after all.. oh well, better make the best of it.”_

 

At the pace they were going, the group arrived in the Pokémon Center’s lobby fairly quickly. An abnormally high number of people had gathered in the space, many of them too afraid to go outside and face the protest right beyond the doors while others had come in for shelter from the chaos.

 

Nekou firmly grabbed Olivia’s arm and guided her while they pushed through the crowd toward the desk. When they got there, they found the nurse gesturing wildly while speaking on the phone.

 

“I can barely fit any more people in my Pokémon Center, what do you expect me to do?” Whoever the nurse was on the phone with was being subject to her shouting. “If these were all trainers coming to me for help at once, we’d be screwed! Just get people off the streets, Jenny! Why would I care how you do it?”

 

Matt started to raise his hand to get her attention, but the nurse saw him and swiftly stuck out her own hand to stop him.

 

“Be quiet and get in line!” she snapped. “I’ve got enough to deal with and I don’t see any bloody Pokémon on you!”

 

“Did she just swear at us or…?” Bunny uttered, dumbfounded.

 

“What a bedside manner,” Nekou added.

 

“So how do we find Monroe in this mess?” wondered Matt. “If she won’t help us…”

 

“Olivia?”

 

Matt couldn’t hold back from chuckling as he turned around to face Monroe. “Right on cue, huh?”

 

“You guys are all alright, right?” Monroe’s usual nervousness was nowhere to be found. “What are you doing here? Olivia told me you were staying in that fancy hotel…”

 

“We came here looking for you,” Olivia sharply replied, shoving her hands into the pockets of her new coat. “Well, it was my idea, anyway.”

 

“O-oh… thank you for being concerned about me, but I’m fine.”

 

“Thank me later. We still have work to do, right, Nekou?”

 

Nekou adjusted her glasses and sighed. “I guess you’re right about that. In order for this to work, we’re going to have to split up. Olivia, Monroe, you two come with me. I’m going to go underground and see if I can’t figure out why the power went out.”

 

“What should the two of us do?” Bunny asked, referring to herself and Matt.

 

“Polaris is likely going to use the Magnet Train to move the Meteonite. You and him… I want you to go to the station’s freight area and look for a certain truck they’re moving it in. If you can stop it, that would be perfect.”

 

“How will we know which truck it is?” Matt questioned.

 

“Oh, you’ll know. Nobody else is going to be on the streets with the protests.” Reaching into her coat, Nekou took out an earpiece microphone and tossed it to Matt. “Use that to keep me up on what’s going on on your end.”

 

“I… I guess that makes sense.” After setting the microphone in his ear, Matt added, “Good luck. Be careful out there.”

 

-:-

 

Technicians clothed in the white, blue and black uniform of Polaris sat at lines of computers within the dark, metallic bridge of the organization’s cargo ship. A giant video screen towered over them at an angle, while opposite it, Thorton - in full Getriebe outfit - stood on an elevated platform.

 

A window was open on the monitor, displaying Colress in the cockpit of his airship.

 

“Everything going smoothly, my friend?”

 

“We’ve left the Goldenrod docks without incident,” Thorton answered, crossing his arms. “I take it you have not gotten to the Adenosine Base yet.”

 

“Nope!”

 

“Don’t be so flippant about it. Finansielle wants us back there in time for the meeting.”

 

“I don’t understand you Chromosomes,” Colress said, chuckling. “Why are you always so eager to take orders from an Omanyte fossil?”

 

“You better watch yourself, Colress. Keep in mind I’m one of them too.”

 

“Oh, calm down, Mister Chromosome, I’m teasing you. When I get back to the base, I’ll have my team prepare a work station for you. Then you can put your mind to your tasks.”

 

-:-

 

What Thorton, his crew and Colress were all unaware of was that they were being watched.

 

Jessie, James and Meowth were sitting at a bank of computers in a dark area, while Ariana sat behind them. The monitors before them showed various maps and displays of the ship’s movement, as well as a window for a video feed to Zager’s lab.

 

“What’s your status?” he asked.

 

“Everything’s going just as we planned it, doc,” Meowth answered. “Got their boat on view right now.”

 

“And your weaponry?”

 

“It’s all in order,” Ariana replied, stretching her neck to lift her head over the others.

 

“Then you have my go-ahead. When an opportunity presents itself, proceed with our attack plans.”

 

-:-

 

“This is it,” Nekou said to Olivia and Monroe, who were following tightly behind her at the alley wall. She showed them her phone, on which she had a map of Goldenrod City displayed, then pointed to small building nearby. “See? Right there is how we get underground.”

 

“What are we waiting for, then?”

 

Olivia’s eagerness made Nekou smile. “Good question.”

 

After checking again that their path was clear, the three ran across the street and into the building. Inside there was nothing but a wide staircase leading downward.

 

“D-Down there?” Monroe shakily questioned. “That’s where we turn the power back on?”

 

“Yeah. There’s a power station we can reach by following the tunnels.” Brightening her expression slightly, Nekou then said, “Have some more confidence, kid. You came this far, so obviously you’ve got a spine.”

 

“Th-thanks…”

 

With nothing more to be said, the trio slowly descended the stairs, wary of whatever might be waiting in the bottom. They were greeted, however, by a tunnel that was almost entirely deserted. The sound of two male voices discussing haircuts could be heard further down the passage, but other than that, it was silent.

 

Nekou gestured for Olivia and Monroe to be quiet, then pulled them down a side corridor very near to the staircase.

 

“Down this way,” she whispered to them. “The other way is the shopping area. This way will take us right to the security door.”

 

“S-security door?” Monroe brought up the rear as the group slipped down the corridor. “Olivia, are we in trouble? This friend of yours…”

 

“We’ll be in worse trouble if we don’t do this!” Olivia hissed, though she quickly softened her voice. “I trust her. I’ve been through much worse than this and she helped me get through it. I bet Matt would say the same thing.”

 

“If you say so…”

 

At the end of the hallway, they found their progress impeded by a steel door, just as Nekou had suggested. Its handle was locked with a ten-digit keypad.

 

Without even batting an eye, Nekou typed in the combination and unlocked the door. She then looked to Olivia and Monroe, who were staring at her in surprise.

 

“Lucky guess,” she said with a shrug. “Now come on.”

 

-:-

 

While Nekou, Olivia and Monroe were going deeper into the underground tunnels, Matt and Bunny had used the alleys once again to slip past the unrest on the main streets. Having reached the train station in the very middle of the city, they worked their way around to the back, where the freight loading dock was.

 

Matt touched his finger to the microphone in his ear as he and Bunny moved at a brisk pace. “Nekou, you hear me?”

 

“Yeah, but I can’t talk loud.”

 

“Well, we got to the station. Now what?”

 

“Look for the truck. I fucking told you this already.”

 

“Yeah, but you didn’t tell us what it looked like…”

 

Bunny abruptly hit Matt’s shoulder to get his attention. “There’s a truck over there already…”

 

Matt looked in the direction Bunny pointed, and as she had said, a truck was parked next to the station’s freight dock with its back doors open.

 

“You see anyone out there?” he asked her.

 

“Nope, it’s dead. We better…” Bunny was interrupted when Matt ran toward the truck. “...take care, though…”

 

When Bunny rejoined Matt at the opening in the back of the truck, though, she found him standing there with his mouth open.

 

The inside of the truck was empty.

 

Frantically, Matt put his hand to his ear again. “Nekou, the truck’s empty! It’s not here!”

 

“What the shit? They must have gotten it into the station already. Hurry! You might be able to reach the train before it leaves!”

 

“What did she say?”

 

Before answering, Matt climbed up onto the loading dock itself, then extended a hand to help Bunny up. Once she was alongside him, he stood and said, “She thinks we might be able to catch up to them before the train leaves.”

 

“Then what are we waiting for?”

 

Bunny turned and swiftly entered the station, leaving Matt to stumble behind her. The long, wide hallway led them to a single door, which they cracked just enough to peek through.

 

Beyond was a platform area with a three-car train waiting to depart. The back car was open, allowing Jeunes and another man to wheel the Meteonite in on a cart.

 

“There it is…” Bunny whispered.

“That one’s obviously a Polaris member like Cassy,” Matt said, gesturing in Jeunes’s direction. “He’s wearing a mask like she did. But who’s that other guy?”

 

“I don’t know…”

 

Jeunes went to the front of the train and entered the locomotive, leaving his trench coat-wearing companion to inspect the platform. Unexpectedly, he seemed to realize something and ran off out of the room.

 

“Where’s he going?” Matt wondered.

 

“Who cares? This is our chance. We’ve got to get on that train.”

 

“I don’t know, Bunny…”

 

Bunny grabbed Matt’s shoulders. “Nekou was right when she said it would be bad if Polaris got a hold of that Meteonite. Do you not agree?”

 

“You’ve got a point. But what can we do?”

 

“We’ll figure it out. Come on.”

 

Matt and Bunny quietly opened the door and hurried across the platform to the train, then climbed inside the cargo car. Other than the Meteonite in the center of the car, a number of wooden crates were scattered about. These afforded Matt and Bunny an opportunity to hide.

 

The man in the trench coat returned shortly afterward, carrying a soda bottle with a straw sticking out of it. Apparently unaware of the unexpected passengers on the train, he closed the cargo doors then entered the passenger wagon in the middle.

 

-:-

 

Proton was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car Giovanni had taken to Goldenrod City, while the Team Rocket boss was in the back with Rosalie.

 

After tapping several of the keys on the arm of her wheelchair, Rosalie said out loud, “Alpha team check.”

 

“The Magnet Train just left the station,” Trevor responded, his voice coming through Rosalie’s communicator.

 

“Alright. It’s good to hear that.” Rosalie entered another command, then said, “Beta team check.”

 

“We’re still following the ship,” Ariana answered.

 

“Very well.” Giovanni’s voice echoed slightly off the walls of the car. “Trevor, I want you, Ada and Pierce to follow the Magnet Train. Ariana, as for you and the other three… start your attack on their ship.”

 

“Got it!”

 

-:-

 

“Getriebe, sir, we’ve got something on radar…” one of the Polaris members controlling the ship reported.

 

“Bring it up on the big screen.” When the radar reading appeared on the monitor, Thorton saw that a blinking dot was approaching the ship. He scowled and said to himself, “I knew this was going to happen.”

 

Thorton left the bridge, rushing out a nearby door that led him onto the upper deck. While he ran, he pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and opened it, releasing his Electivire. He suddenly heard laughing coming from up above, and when he looked for the source, he saw a Meowth-head hot air balloon whose basket bore Team Rocket’s logo descending toward the ship.

 

“Prepare for trouble, you messed with the best!” Jessie’s voice was projected at such a volume that it easily drowned out the sound of the waves.

 

“And make it double, we’ll spare you the rest!” James added, equally loudly.

 

“And here we go!”

 

Right after Meowth finished speaking, a bizarre variety of weapons sprouted from the balloon, including a missile launcher, a saw blade, a drill and several claws of various shapes.

 

“Electivire, Thunder!”

 

Though they had brought a wide range of weaponry, Thorton refused to let them use any of it. His Electivire stood and waved her arms around in circles for a moment to build up a charge, then fired an electrical blast right into the balloon, causing it and all the weapons to explode.

 

“Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” the three of them could be heard saying, though Thorton couldn’t see them in the smoke.

 

“Pathetic,” he mumbled. “I guess that means we’re back to this going smoothly.”

 

-:-

 

Cold air flowed through the underground tunnel as Nekou, Olivia and Monroe ran down it.

 

“We’re running out of time!” Nekou shouted to her younger companions behind her. “Matt says the Magnet Train left the station, which means Polaris is about to pull this off!”

 

“How does… how does us turning the power back on stop them?” Monroe questioned.

 

“Well, Nekou said that they turned it off to cause the protests as a distraction, right?” Olivia said. “We get it back on, everyone will notice what Polaris is doing.”

 

“B-but… if the train already…”

 

“Wait!” Nekou abruptly stopped and raised her arm up to halt Olivia and Monroe, only for them to crash into it and then each other. She pointed just ahead, where the corridor turned sharply into another staircase. Lowering her voice dramatically, she said, “We gotta be careful. This could be a fucking trap.”

 

The three straightened up their clothes and composed themselves before calmly walking the rest of the hallway, turning, and descending the staircase.

 

A shutter door greeted them, but there were two men posted guarding it.

 

“Who are you?” the shorter of the guards snapped. “Nobody’s supposed to be down here.”

 

“You three better identify yourselves right now.”

 

Olivia and Monroe tensed, but Nekou seemed not to be bothered at all. While she walked with an almost dance-like sway toward the taller of the guards, she breathily whispered, “Why, I’ll give you all the identification you could ever need, dear…” She licked her lips, then added, “I like tall guys like you.”

 

“Wait… you!” The short man jumped between Nekou and his partner and thrust an accusing finger toward her. “You’re that one who did this yesterday! You thought our security cameras wouldn’t catch you?”

 

Nekou’s expression instantly changed from one of seduction to agitation, and she jumped back to Olivia and Monroe. “So you know my tricks, then? Maybe you also know you best get out of our fucking way, too.”

 

“Oh no, we’re not doing that,” Nekou’s failed target warned, as both he and his diminutive companion armed themselves with Poké Balls. “We got instructions to keep this place locked up nice and tight, especially from people like you.”

 

Both men opened the two Poké Balls they each were holding. The short guard’s released a Lunatone alongside a gray-bodied Pokémon with a large head and green, yellow and red lights on each hand. The taller one’s, meanwhile, called forth a Gligar and a sword-shaped Pokémon with a single eye on his handle. A purple wisp flowed from the top of the handle, clutching an ornate brown sheath.

 

“That Pokémon, it’s…”

 

“A Honedge,” Monroe answered, recognizing Olivia’s question. “A Pokémon from Kalos…”

 

Chuckling to herself, Nekou took out two Poké Balls of her own and crossed her arms. “Oh man, you guys picked the wrong people to fuck with. Olivia, Monroe, back me up here.”

 

Monroe didn’t say anything, but as she got out one of her own Poké Balls, Olivia responded, “We’ve got your back, I’m sure…”

 

“Good. Now… Marie, Zorua, get out there!”

 

“Roselia, join them!”

 

Nekou’s Sneasel and Zorua appeared with Olivia’s Roselia accompanying them. The hallway was getting crowded, but they didn’t care. All three of them simply prepared to fight their opponents, with Marie and Zorua growling and Roselia attempting to strike a menacing pose.

 

Both men fixed their gazes on Roselia, and the shorter one said, “Not too bright, sending a Grass-and-Poison-type against my Psychic-types. I think I’ll teach you a lesson first. Lunatone, Psyshock!”

 

“Block it with Energy Ball!”

 

Silver light appeared in Lunatone’s eyes as it turned slowly to Roselia, who pointed one of her arms up at it. Simultaneously, Lunatone fired bolts of the silvery light from its eyes, while Roselia countered by sending up a glowing green sphere. The two met in an explosion, but Lunatone’s Psyshock wasn’t dispelled and continued toward Roselia.

 

“Marie!” Nekou shouted.

 

Just before the attack connected, Marie jumped between it and Roselia. All the psychic energy flowed into her, but she was not affected by it at all. She waited until it faded, then snickered at the Lunatone.

 

“Nobody gets away with calling me stupid!” Olivia snapped.

 

“If you’re smart you might want to listen to her…” added Nekou.

 

The guard just smirked. “You’re all pretty foolish to not watch your heads. Elgyem, Psybeam!”

 

The gray-bodied Pokémon, Elgyem, had used the smoke from Energy Ball’s explosion to hide as she rose above the rest of the battle. From her vantage point, she raised up her arm and began flashing the lights on it, ultimately shooting a shining beam of light aimed to sail over Marie’s head and hit Roselia.

 

“Gourgeist, Shadow Ball!”

 

On Monroe’s command, a Pokémon whose pale, ethereal body emerged from a jack-o-lantern shot past Olivia and Nekou. An orb of darkness formed at his mouth, and he blocked the Psybeam with it by standing in front of Roselia. His stringy hair billowed around his head as the two attacks faded before him.

 

“Monroe, that Pokémon… you saved Ros…”

 

“Your little show is cute and all, but I think it’s over now,” the taller guard said, interrupting Olivia. “Gligar, take out that Gourgeist with Acrobatics, for a start.”

 

Flipping through the air, the tall guard’s Gligar latched onto one of the walls to get a better vantage point, then dove through the air with her eyes locked on Gourgeist.

 

“You saved me, now I’ll save you. Sludge Bomb!”

 

Much like how Gourgeist had protected her, Roselia repaid the favor by getting between him and Gligar and spitting up a considerable amount of purple slime right into Gligar’s eyes. The Ground-and-Flying -type lost control of her flight and crashed harmlessly into the ground.

 

“I’ve got you right where I want you! Honedge, cut down Gourgeist with Shadow Claw!”

 

“And get that annoying Roselia with Psyshock, Lunatone!” the short guard added.

 

Both Pokémon rose up into the air to carry out their masters’ orders. While Lunatone’s eyes began to fill with the silvery light again, purple energy surrounded Honedge’s blade, and he sliced through the air toward his target.

 

“Zorua, use Snarl now!”

 

Nekou’s Zorua jumped up onto her trainer’s head and let out a loud, shrill cry. Elgyem, Honedge and Lunatone were all sent reeling by the Dark-type attack, while Gligar was affected to a less severe degree.

 

“I don’t understand this,” the shorter guard mumbled to his partner. “We have four Pokémon to their three, don’t we have the numbers advantage?”

 

“...wait, what did you just say? Three? Shouldn’t there be four? Roselia, Gourgeist, Zorua, and…”

 

“Sneasel!” Nekou cheerfully shouted, spinning around on her heel.

 

Marie sprang off of Nekou’s back, where she had hidden without notice after absorbing Lunatone’s first Psyshock. She pulled her arm back, and it became surrounded by freezing air, allowing her to hit Gligar in the face with Ice Punch. While Gligar fell to the ground and fainted behind her, she turned to Roselia, Gourgeist and Zorua and waved her claw to rally them.

 

“Marie’s right!” Olivia declared, her resolve restored. “Come on, Monroe, help me out here!”

 

When he saw Olivia gesture toward Lunatone, Monroe understood what she wanted him to do. “Alright, Olivia, I got it. Gourgeist, give Lunatone a Shadow Ball!”

 

“Energy Ball!” Olivia added.

 

Standing side-by-side, Roselia and Gourgeist launched their respective attacks, with Lunatone squarely in their sights. Weakened by the fighting, Lunatone didn’t have the strength to pull itself out of the way. It was explosively knocked out of the air, and it fell onto Gligar.

 

“You three are getting on my last nerve…” the short guard fumed. “Elgyem, Psybeam!”

 

“Honedge, use Rock Smash!”

 

Both Elgyem and Honedge advanced toward the group’s Pokémon, but Nekou’s Zorua jumped in front of them. She snickered, then used Snarl again, crippling the pair by exploiting their weakness to the Dark type. Roselia and Gourgeist then cut in and finished them off with Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball respectively.

 

Their Pokémon defeated, the two guards fell to their knees. Nekou walked right up to them again and leaned down so she could look right into their eyes.

 

She smiled sweetly, then said, “Next time I tell you to get out of my way, don’t fuck with me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

With that, she raised her right arm, and the perfume trap in her sleeve sprayed the guards with a cloud that rendered them unconscious. Nekou then straightened up and pressed a button next to the shutter, opening it to reveal a maze of hallways beyond.

 

“Come on, you guys. We have to keep moving.”

 

“C-Can we actually get through there?” Monroe questioned while he and Olivia called back their Pokémon.

 

“Don’t worry,” Nekou assured him. “You got through fighting these two pretty well. Keep your confidence up.”

 

“G-got it.”

 

“The Pokémon you were using, Monroe, I’ve never seen it before.” Olivia took out her Pokédex and began fumbling with it as the trio entered the maze. “I haven’t seen Elgyem or Honedge either…”

 

_“Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon. Type is Grass/Ghost. Evolved form of Pumpkaboo. Singing in eerie voices, they wander town streets on the night of the new moon. Anyone who hears their song is cursed. It enwraps prey in its hairlike arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey._

 

_Elgyem, the Cerebral Pokémon. Type is Psychic. It uses its strong psychic power to squeeze its opponent’s brain, causing unendurable headaches. Rumors of its origin are linked to a UFO crash site in the desert from 50 years ago._

 

_Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. Type is Steel/Ghost. Apparently, this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force. If anyone dares to grab its hilt, it wraps a blue cloth around that person’s arm and drains their life energy completely.”_

 

A shiver went down Olivia’s spine. “Some of these Pokémon are pretty scary. Good thing you’ve got one of your own to fight back, right?”

 

“I should say the same thing about that weird gas she just used.” Monroe briefly glanced to Nekou. “Don’t you wonder what’s up with that?”

 

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re doing what we have to. Honestly, that’s not even the most unusual thing I’ve seen her do.”

 

-:-

 

Thorton scowled under his mask as he gripped the railing of his platform on the ship’s bridge.

 

 _“Something doesn’t add up…”_ he thought to himself. _“Team Rocket fought Zinzolin so effectively, yet they tried to confront me right out in the open? Why take such a foolish tactic now?”_

 

While Thorton was lost in thought, the ship was suddenly violently rocked by a powerful force. He lost his grip and fell against the rail, while several of his followers slid out of their chairs onto the floor.

 

“The hell was that?” Thorton shouted as he tried to pull himself up. “Someone give me a report now!”

 

“T-two explosions in the engine room!” one of the technicians called back. A map of the ship appeared on the main screen, displaying a red glow deep within the ship. “We’ve lost power to the main engines. Sir, we’re… we’re dead in the water.”

 

“You’re joking, right? Find the power somewhere!”

 

“It’s going to take some time…”

 

Thorton growled to himself, then pointed at two of his other followers. “You two, come with me.”

 

The two followers, one male and one female, quickly ascended the stairs to Thorton’s platform and joined their leader. Together the three of them entered a nearby elevator and began descending deeper into the ship.

 

“Get your Poké Balls ready,” Thorton mumbled to the two. “I’ve got a feeling about what’s down there… or should I say, who’s down there.”

 

“What do you mean, Getriebe, sir?” the man asked.

 

Thorton didn’t answer. He instead took out his own Poké Ball and gripped it tightly.

 

A minute or two later, the elevator came to an abrupt stop, making everyone within but Thorton stumble slightly. The doors opened to a vast, dark chamber containing two gigantic engines.

 

Squinting into the darkness, the woman said, “If everything isn’t completely destroyed, I can use the terminal on the other end of this room to reroute power to the backup engines.”

 

“Then let’s get going,” Thorton replied. “Look alert.”

 

Remaining together in a tight cluster, the three advanced into the straight path framed by the engines. Thorton walked ahead and kept glancing back and forth with his Poké Ball in his hand, while his followers divided their attention between the left and right sides.

 

When they were about halfway down the path, the sound of metal hitting the floor made all three of them jump. Thorton reflexively released Electivire.

 

“Show yourself, intruder!” Thorton’s demand echoed through the engine room, but there was no reply. When he focused his hearing, he thought he noticed the sound of footsteps, so he added, “Or should I say, intruders…”

 

“There’s more than one, sir?”

 

Thorton briefly glanced back to his male follower. “If they’re the ones responsible for disabling the engines, I’ve got a bad feeling in my stomach we’ve all been had.”

 

A rumbling sound suddenly filled their ears, and large rocks fell from above, surrounding the group. Glowing purple thorns rained down as well, adding an additional ring of hazards.

 

“I knew it,” Thorton sighed. “If I ask what this is, you’ll just do it anyway, so get it over with already.”

 

From above the Polaris group’s heads, Ariana could be heard laughing. “Someone knows your game. I guess you better give the man what he wants!”

 

“Here we go!” Meowth yelled.

 

“Prepare for trouble, you fell for our bluff!”

 

“And make it double, say when you’ve had enough!”

 

“To protect the world from devastation!”

 

“To unite all peoples within our nation!”

 

“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”

 

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

 

“Jessie!”

 

“And I’m James!”

 

“Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!”

 

“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!”

 

Meowth jumped in between Jessie and James and finished, “Meowth, that’s right!”

 

Jessie, James and Meowth were posing dramatically together on top of one of the engines, with Swoobat and Cofagrigus alongside them. Ariana was there as well, standing with her hand on her hip and looking smugly down at Thorton along with her Arbok.

 

“That felt good,” James said.

 

“It’s good to be back,” Meowth agreed.

 

“I don’t know how you got here or what you did, but I won’t put up with this! Electivire, Thu…”

 

“Getriebe, wait!” The man seized Thorton’s shoulder from behind, stopping him from finishing his order. “If you do that, you risk damaging the engines further!”

 

“Then you two fight them!”

 

“It’s not that simple,” warned the woman. “This space is too tight for so many Pokémon. Any fighting and we risk irreversible damage. I wouldn’t be able to fix the power if we do that…”

 

Underneath his mask, Thorton grit his teeth.

 

Meanwhile, the Polaris group’s inability to do anything brought a devious smirk to Jessie’s lips. “What’s wrong? Feeling a little trapped?”

 

“It was too easy to trick you fools,” James bragged, mocking Thorton further. “A simple decoy balloon and a couple well-placed bombs, and we’ve brought you to your knees.”

 

“Well you’re in for a surprise,” Thorton countered. “We don’t have the Meteonite aboard this ship. You came here for nothing.”

 

After a brief hesitation, Jessie, James and Meowth all started laughing.

 

“You think we don’t know that already?” Jessie said. “No, we came here for what you do have aboard.”

 

“And we’re talking Pokémon, of course!” Meowth elaborated. “We know you eggheads are carrying a big stock of great Pokémon on this tub, and they’re precisely the kind of Pokémon we’re looking to put into the boss’s army! You know, Pokémon strong enough even for a Frontier Brain!”

 

Thorton flinched slightly, thinking that Team Rocket were about to unmask him, but they did not. Instead, Ariana stepped forward, hiding her face behind a fan she’d taken from her sleeve.

 

“You still seem baffled by what’s happened to you, Getriebe,” she condescendingly said. “We’re always going to be a step ahead of you. The only way you’re ever beating us is if you could see the future. Now, we have an appointment to keep. Your Pokémon, we gratefully accept them in the name of our boss.”

 

James’s Cofagrigus waved his arms, using Will-O-Wisp to create a wall of flame to obscure Team Rocket’s escape. Thorton and his followers could do nothing but watch.

 

“Bring out your Pokémon,” he ordered his followers. “I’m sure you can safely get rid of these rocks.”

 

-:-

 

A service road ran parallel to the Magnet Train’s tracks for their entire stretch between Johto and Kanto. Following not far behind the train transporting the Meteonite was a car, driven by Trevor while Ada and Pierce sat in the back. Ada was fretting at her laptop while Pierce simply waited with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

 

“A-Ariana’s team has hit their ship, I can confirm that,” Ada said to Giovanni, Rosalie and Zager, who were displayed in three separate video streams on her computer.

 

“What about the train?” Giovanni questioned.

 

“It’s… it’s close to the destroyed portion of the track, but I-I can’t give an estimate on distance. I apologize…”

 

“Chin up, Ada,” Rosalie said to encourage her.

 

“If they are about to stop like I believe they are,” Zager cut in, “I would suggest that you begin your part of the mission.”

 

Rosalie nodded in agreement. “I’m on board. Pierce, Trevor, you know what to do.”

 

“Yes,” both of them replied at once. Trevor didn’t take his eyes off the road in front of him, but Pierce’s wandered over to look out at the landscape as it sped by.

 

-:-

 

Jessie, James and Meowth could only stare at the sight that awaited them in the ship’s cargo bay. Wooden crates, all of them containing Pokémon, spread out before them in numbers too high to count.

 

“Look at ‘em all…” Meowth said in amazement.

 

“All Pokémon used in Polaris’s experiments… enough for an entire army…”

 

“If that’s what they even want to do,” Jessie corrected James.

 

While the three debated exactly what Polaris’s motive for the Pokémon was, Ariana had busied herself planting small devices on the computers in the cargo deck with Arbok’s help. When she finished, she emerged from behind the crates to rejoin Jessie, James and Meowth.

 

“I’ve finished planting the bugs,” she announced. “Let’s hurry and get done before that little shrimp and his men catch up to us.”

 

Ariana climbed onto Arbok’s back, and the snake Pokémon slithered around a nearby ladder to carry her to the top of the crates. Jessie, James and Meowth followed by using Cofagrigus’s Psychic to levitate themselves.

 

“A lot of Poké Balls here,” Meowth remarked, “but our gear from the good doctor will do the trick. Let’s get to it!”

 

“Stop! You won’t get away!”

 

The sound of Thorton’s voice and the accompanying footsteps made Jessie, James and Ariana roll their eyes and look down at him as he rushed into the cargo bay with his two followers.

 

“Looks like your little shrimp is faster than we gave him credit for,” Jessie said, eliciting a chuckle from Ariana.

 

“You aren’t…” Thorton could barely speak because of how out of breath he was. “...taking… those Pokémon…”

 

“Such a big mouth for a short guy like you!” Ariana handed James a remote-like device, which generated a holographic screen when he turned it on. “Unfortunately for you, we’re one step ahead, just like always.”

 

In response to James pressing several buttons on the holographic screen, the cargo bay doors above the chamber slowly opened, exposing the deck to the open air above. Team Rocket’s real balloon was already there, hovering over the ship with a giant bag attached to its bottom.

 

“We’ll be sucking up every last one of your Poké Balls now!” Meowth bragged.

 

“Dammit, when is Colress going to get here?” Thorton growled. Turning to his followers, he commanded, “Bring out your Pokémon! Stop them!”

 

“Yes, Getriebe, sir! Go, Fletchinder!”

 

“Go, Meowstic!”

 

The male follower’s Poké Ball released a bird Pokémon with a red and white body and wings colored half-black and half-yellow. The woman’s, meanwhile, contained a feline Pokémon that stood on her hind legs. She was mainly white, though her legs and small bits of fur on her head, neck and both of her curled tails were blue. Thorton’s Electivire stomped up next to them.

 

“Jessie, you and Ariana take care of them. I’ll handle getting the Pokémon.” James lowered his head and added, “Though what did he mean by Colress getting here?”

 

“We’ll worry about that later! Just get busy!”

 

“Fletchinder, Flamethrower!”

 

Flying up to eye level with the Team Rocket members, Fletchinder expelled a thin but focused stream of fire from his beak. Ariana just scoffed and pointed her fan forward.

 

“Fire and Flying is easy for you, Arbok. Rock Slide!”

 

The burst of flame struck Arbok in the patterned area beneath his head. He briefly reeled back, but quickly recovered and sent a cluster of rocks flying in Fletchinder’s direction. The small bird was overcome by the stones and brought crashing down to the floor.

 

“I’ll do this instead, then,” the woman said, stepping forward. “Meowstic, Psychic!”

 

Locking her gaze onto Arbok, Meowstic’s yellow eyes filled with blue light. The same light surrounded Arbok and began lifting him into the air.

 

Ariana held up her Poké Ball and said, “Arbok, return!”

 

“What’s the matter, running away from a fight?” Thorton taunted.

 

“More like picking my battles,” Ariana countered. “That’s something your goons might want to learn…”

 

Jessie’s Swoobat suddenly appeared from behind Ariana with a Shadow Ball already formed at her mouth. Meowstic was caught by surprise, having focused all of her attention on attacking Arbok, and got knocked away into another of the crates.

 

“Clearly I have to do everything myself,” Thorton grumbled. “Electivire, Thunder!”

 

“Stop it with Air Slash!”

 

Jessie’s Swoobat courageously flew right into the path of Electivire’s electrical blast and attempted to stop it with blades of air from her wings. This failed, however, leaving Swoobat to take the full force of Electivire’s assault. She flailed backward and landed on the crates, her fur burned.

 

While James and Meowth worked to pry open one of the crates, Jessie grit her teeth and sent Swoobat back to the safety of her Poké Ball. She started to look to Ariana for a way to deal with Electivire, only to be interrupted by Wobbuffet’s frantic cries from the balloon.

 

“There’s someone else up there!” Meowth quickly interpreted.

 

The sound of jet engines filled the air, and Ariana pieced together what was happening. “This is what you meant by Colress getting here, isn’t it?” she called over the side of the crates. When Thorton didn’t reply, she took it as a confirmation and turned to Jessie, James and Meowth. “We have to retreat! This situation just got way out of hand!”

 

James gestured weakly to the crate he and Meowth had been working on prying open and whimpered, “But what about this?”

 

“Just take the whole crate!” Ariana ordered. “We have to get out of here now!”

 

“Never trust a man to do a woman’s job,” Jessie huffed. She stormed over to James and Meowth and helped them heft the crate up, though she then left James to carry its entire weight on his shoulders.

 

By that point, Meowstic had recovered and levitated up onto the crates herself. She was hissing at the Team Rocket members.

 

“Meowstic, Hyper Beam!” her trainer called from down below.

 

Ariana would have none of this, and while Meowstic started to gather energy, the Rocket Executive gestured to James’s Cofagrigus. The Ghost-type used his Will-O-Wisp to create a wall of blue flame in the air between them and Meowstic. By the time Meowstic’s Hyper Beam blew the fires away, Team Rocket was gone, having levitated to their balloon with the crate using Cofagrigus’s Psychic.

 

“Where are they?!” Thorton screamed, losing what was left of his composure. “Colress, you have to be able to see them up there. Get after them!”

 

Colress’s airship drifted over the cargo bay and came into full view of Thorton and his followers. “My, my, someone sounds tense!”

 

“Colress…” Angered by Colress’s mocking, Thorton had begun growling at the scientist. “Just because you’re in good with Finansielle doesn’t mean you can just disrespect a Chromosome like that…”

 

“Fine, fine, Mister Helix. I can see them but that little balloon of theirs is moving away pretty fast.”

 

“And why aren’t you going after them? Why aren’t they at the bottom of the ocean right now?”

 

“I didn’t bring my Reuniclus from the lab, what can I say? Besides, what’s more important, the few Pokémon they got away with or all the others on your dead-in-the-water ship? Not to mention everything else you’ve got on board…”

 

“We could have gotten emergency pow…” What Colress said took a moment to sink in, but when it did, Thorton cut himself off and ran to the hold’s computer. “I forgot, I forgot all about it…”

 

Colress’s voice suddenly became severe. “Then make sure you remember it now, because you know Finansielle is going to be furious if it’s compromised…”

 

Without responding, Thorton frantically clicked through a number of diagrams on the computer, each one laying out a different section of the ship. When he finally got to the one he wanted, he entered another command to activate a security camera feed of the deck.

 

Unlike the cargo bay, the room on the screen was relatively small and had only one thing in it - a transparent, coffin-shaped object roughly the size of a man, held up by four robotic arms.

 

As soon as he saw it, Thorton sighed and relaxed. “The Oberon deck and Oberon itself are both still secure.”

 

“Good!” Just as abruptly as he’d become serious, Colress’s usual demeanor returned. “Let’s get all your cargo up here and then we can just scuttle that ship, how about that?”

 

 _“First I lose my Purine Base, then my ship…”_ Thorton thought, _“Did I upset someone after all?”_

 

-:-

 

What Thorton and Colress weren’t aware of as they expressed their relief was that the bugs planted in the cargo hold by Ariana were still active and transmitting. As they sailed through the air toward Olivine City in their balloon, Jessie, James, Meowth and Ariana had a holographic screen open and were listening to the entire exchange.

 

“The Oberon, huh?” Meowth said. “I wonder what it is?”

 

“I’d wager it’s quite important, given how much they wanted to hide it from us,” James guessed.

 

“Ariana, do you know anything about this?” asked Jessie.

 

Steadying herself by holding tightly to one of the balloon’s support poles, Ariana replied, “It doesn’t sound familiar. Let’s have a word with Giovanni later.”

 

-:-

 

Ever since boarding the train, Matt and Bunny had been hiding behind some crates in the freight car. They had been mostly silent, but when they felt the train begin slowing, he put his hand to his ear.

 

“Nekou, the train’s stopping. What should we do?”

 

“Get ready for a fight,” came her response. “I thought they would do something like this. If the train went right to wherever they’re taking the Meteonite, it would be leading us there, so they’re going to move it there some other way.”

 

“What did she say?” Bunny asked.

 

“The train’s stopping because they want to take the Meteonite somewhere the rail line doesn’t lead to,” Matt explained. “I think she wants us to do something to stop it now.”

 

“Then let’s move.”

 

Before Matt even realized it, Bunny was out from behind the crates and halfway across the room. He stood and followed her, stumbling briefly when the train fully stopped, and joined her at the doorway connecting to the next car.

 

Bunny put her finger to her lips, gesturing for Matt to be silent. She then gripped the door’s handle and cracked it open slightly so she and Matt could peek through.

 

To their surprise, only the man in the trench coat was in the passenger car. It was otherwise completely empty.

 

They quickly and quietly closed the door and retreated back to one of the crates.

 

“You see that?” Matt whispered. “That guy and the one with the mask must be the only ones on this train with us! We’re equal to them!”

 

“If nobody else is in the front…”

 

Matt grimaced. “That really helps my confidence… whatever, it doesn’t matter. If we can beat that guy in the next car, we might have a chance to take control of the train.”

 

“Then I guess we go for it?” Bunny said, holding up one of her Poké Balls.

 

Mimicking her motion, Matt answered, “Guess so.”

 

Matt and Bunny each took a deep breath. They then burst through the door, opening the Poké Balls as they charged to release their Ambipom and Drifblim respectively. Despite being faced with two intruders and a pair of Pokémon, however, the man in the trench coat simply stood up, his manner unexpectedly calm.

 

“So you finally got here, huh? They told me you’d be coming, but I didn’t think you’d be making me wait so long.”

 

The man’s confidence left Matt and Bunny deeply unsettled.

 

“You… knew we were here?” Bunny stammered. “You knew all along?”

 

When the man nodded, Matt uttered, “But then why not do something about us?”

 

“Everything is going exactly according to plan,” the mysterious agent replied, accentuating his words with a wide grin and a shake of his finger.

 

All of a sudden, the door to the locomotive slid open.

 

“Our chopper from Viridian is going to be here within the half hour,” Jeunes announced as he swept into the car. It took him a moment to realize Matt and Bunny were present, but when he did, he stopped in his tracks. “You finally caught up to us? No wonder Finansielle’s so interested in you and your friends, Matt Chiaki. Of course, I’ve known for a long time that you’re more than you seem.”

 

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Do I know you?” he sharply questioned, though he then thought to himself, _“That voice does sound awfully familiar though…”_

 

“Barely,” Jeunes answered. The illuminated Polaris logo on the door behind him cast a bright yet eerie glow around him. “But that doesn’t matter now,” he said, turning to the man in the trench coat. “Restrain them, what are you waiting for?”

 

The man did not immediately act on his orders. When he did, though, he merely hunched over and snickered while dropping a Poké Ball to the floor. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

 

The Poké Ball burst open, and before the Pokémon within could even be seen, thick smoke flooded the cabin. Matt and Bunny were left stunned and coughing, while Jeunes stumbled backward to a control panel next to the locomotive door.

 

“What are you doing?” he choked, slamming his hand against one of the buttons on the panel.

 

In response to the trigger Jeunes activated, vents running the length of the car flipped open, allowing the smoke to drift out of the cabin. The sight that greeted him when he could once again see caught him completely by surprise.

 

The one Jeunes had thought was his aide was actually a gangly, bearded man with bad posture. Much to the shock of the three people looking at him, he was wearing a Team Rocket uniform. A Koffing floated in the air next to him, having been released by the Poké Ball.

 

“You have to be kidding me…” Jeunes growled, stumbling back into the door. “You all were supposed to be going after that ship!”

 

“Didn’t think we’d get wise to you, eh?” The Team Rocket agent chuckled and scratched his messy purple hair. Turning his eyes to Matt and Bunny, he said, “Name’s Petrel, master of disguise. Glad to finally meet you.”

 

“You mean you know about us?” Bunny wondered. “Wait, that doesn’t matter! Why should we trust you?”

 

“We’re on the same side, of course. You’re here to stop Polaris, and I’m here to stop Polaris. The letter on my chest doesn’t really matter much when you look at it that way, right?”

 

“When you put it that way, I guess you have a point,” Matt admitted.

 

“Don’t make a habit of doing this,” Bunny sharply warned her friend before turning to Petrel. “We’re here now so we’ll help you, but if we had any other options, you better believe we’d be taking them.”

 

“Aw, I’m flattered you two are fighting over me!” Petrel laughed, seemingly unaware of what Bunny had actually said to him. However, as he sent his Koffing back into his Poké Ball, he casually said, “This little lovers’ quarrel gave him a chance to get away.”

 

Indeed, Jeunes was gone. Matt and Bunny did not react quickly enough to stop the locomotive door from sliding closed again, but they managed to catch a glimpse of what was behind it. In the heavily computerized control booth, Jeunes was somehow nowhere to be seen.

 

“Where’d he go?” Matt awkwardly adjusted his glasses and looked around. “Did he go outside?”

 

“He can’t carry the Meteonite on foot, so we can rule that out. He must still be here, he’s not trying to escape immediately.”

 

The great stress Matt was feeling was making his arms and left leg tremble. Something about the situation made no sense to him.

 

 _“We’re stuck in this car unless we go back to the freight car,”_ he thought. _“Right now, he could just take us but he isn’t. What am I missing here?”_

 

Suddenly, Matt remembered something that made him realize what was happening.

 

“He said he was waiting for a chopper out of here!” he blurted out, slamming his right fist into his left palm. “That means…”

 

“He’s going out from above the train,” Bunny finished. “Now we have to get up there and stop him, I’m guessing?”

 

While Matt and Bunny had been working out this solution, Petrel was already one step ahead of them. “We can go through the freight car doors, there’s a ladder right outside!” he called from the back of the cabin.

 

Matt and Bunny looked at each other and nodded, then rushed off in Petrel’s direction with their Pokémon accompanying them.

 

As they ran, Bunny said to Matt, “I’m serious, I’m only working with this Petrel because of the situation we’re in.”

 

“Yeah, I get that.” As they reached the door, Matt said out loud, “I wonder how Nekou and Olivia are doing?”

 

-:-

 

At that time, Nekou’s group had reached their objective deep in the Goldenrod tunnels. Nekou had her computer plugged into a console on the wall, and she was working furiously while Olivia and Monroe guarded the hallway in opposite directions.

 

“How is it coming?” Olivia asked over her shoulder.

 

“I should be able to restore the power,” Nekou replied, “but I have to get all the way into the system first. That’s going to take some work.”

 

“Do you really think they’re going to send people down here after us?”

 

Nekou looked up from her computer. “If they figure out we kicked the asses of those two guys before, maybe. That’s why I need you and Olivia helping to defend our position here.”

 

“I…” Monroe tightened his grip on Gourgeist’s Poké Ball as worry overtook him. “I guess I can try to help…”

 

-:-

 

Once they had climbed to the top of the train, Matt, Bunny, Ambipom and Drifblim stared in awe at the sight spread before their eyes. The train had stopped near the point the Tenganists had bombed, and twisted chunks of scorched metal were scattered over a wide area around where the tracks abruptly ended. Petrel seemed unsurprised by the sight. Jeunes, meanwhile, was simply standing on top of the locomotive, waiting.

 

“What… what is this?” Matt wondered as he and Bunny along with their Pokémon advanced forward. “Who did this?”

 

“Your friends, the Tenganists,” Jeunes revealed, slowly turning to face his enemies. “We know about you and how you’re tied to them, Matt. For that matter, Bunny, we’re also aware of your old mentor Jacob’s association with the Tenganists, and how that brings you and Matt together. Polaris knows every bit of it.”

 

“They aren’t terrorists,” Bunny argued. “What is this, a bombing? There is no reason in their modern history that would make me think they’d bomb a simple rail line. They’ve been a peaceful people for centuries.”

 

“I’m disappointed, Bunny. An archeologist like you should think about how the past affects the present.” Turning his eyes to Petrel, who had stepped up alongside Matt and Bunny, Jeunes shook his head and reached into his cape. “And you try to lecture me about what makes a terrorist when you’re working with Team Rocket?”

 

Bunny was taken aback by Jeunes’s line of questioning. She had to admit to herself that, despite everything that was going on, he had a point. It was all becoming overwhelming for her, and she started to freeze up.

 

Jeunes smirked to himself under his mask, confident he had turned the tide of the situation in his favor. When he took an odd, vaguely pistol-shaped handheld computer out from within his cape, however, Matt nearly fell clear off the train in shock. He recognized the object instantly.

 

“That computer… and the Mewtwo mask… I knew I recognized your voice! Take the mask off so we can do this face to face, Yung!”

 

Disregarding Matt’s correct guess of his identity, Yung looked to Petrel and began typing a command into his device. “Let’s give you an old familiar enemy, how about that?”

 

Shutters lining both sides of the train opened in response to Yung’s direction. Poles with flat, purple crystals installed in their ends emerged from the middle and back cars, while two longer rods framed Yung on the locomotive. When he pressed one more button, the crystals began glowing, followed moments later by a burst of electricity from each of the rods.

 

The bursts met over the front of the middle car, where they took on the shape of a tall, lithe Pokémon. Matt and Petrel both recognized it immediately, despite the fact that it formed without any features. The tiny hexagons texturing its body gave way shortly after, revealing its coloration, muscle tone and face.

 

“A Mewtwo…” Matt uttered. “You haven’t changed much…”

 

“So you really were there five years ago, huh?”

 

Matt wanted to question how Petrel knew about his past, but before he could, Bunny interrupted. “Either of you want to tell me what’s going on here?”

 

“The man behind the mask is Dr. Mitchell Yung,” Petrel explained. “He’s a scientist with a major axe to grind against us. That Pokémon? It’s a Mirage Pokémon, created from computer data. He designed the system.”

 

“He hates you guys?” Matt said. “I guess that explains why he was working for Enigma Shadow five years ago…”

 

“I was always in Polaris,” Yung clarified, seemingly no longer caring about his identity beyond the mask. “Enigma Shadow outlived their use for us, so we got rid of them from within. Of course, you and your old friend Rich helped me out.”

 

“We wouldn’t if we knew what you really were doing!”

 

“Oh yes you would.” Behind his mask, Yung smirked wickedly. “Maybe you’re too much of a bleeding heart to admit it, but I was able to get into Rich’s head real good. Does that make you feel bad? Or are you not bothered, judging by how you’re working for Team Rocket now?”

 

“Do you really think I’m going to listen to you?” Matt responded to Yung’s taunts, well aware of Bunny burning holes into him with her stare.

 

“I don’t really care if you do or not. It’s not like you’re getting out of this.” Thrusting his finger forward, Yung called out, “Mewtwo, get rid of them!”

 

In the blink of an eye, the Mewtwo was upon Matt’s group. It grabbed his Ambipom by her throat and lifted her into the air with a cold, ruthless manner that left Matt speechless.

 

“Sky, hit it with Shadow Ball!” Bunny commanded.

 

After floating higher up into the air, Sky launched a Shadow Ball in Mewtwo’s direction. Mewtwo’s reaction was almost instant. It snapped its head toward the oncoming attack, then deftly dodged it by jumping backward, releasing Ambipom in the process. As its attention was now trained on the Drifblim, it screamed toward the clouds and released a massive blast of electricity that severely injured Sky.

 

“Crobat, come on out and use Haze!” Petrel cried, throwing another of his Poké Balls. As soon as his Crobat appeared, she exhaled a cloud of thick black smoke, putting a barrier of sorts between her trainer’s allies and the virtual monster they faced.

 

“A Poison-and-Flying-type against something that just used an Electric-type attack?” Bunny screeched.

 

“My dear Bunny, you just don’t understand. That Mewtwo is made from raw data. There is no limit on its capabilities. It can exploit any weakne…”

 

Petrel didn’t need to finish his sentence for his point to be made. An intense Blizzard tore through the smoke, buffeting Crobat relentlessly. When the Haze cleared away, Matt, Bunny and Petrel could see that it was coming from a Walrein head that had emerged from Mewtwo’s chest.

 

“What the hell is that?!”

 

Ignoring Bunny’s wonder at his work, Yung calmly said, “Power-Up Punch.”

 

The Walrein head disappeared, and Mewtwo rushed Ambipom with its arm pulled back and glowing. The punch that followed sent her flying violently back, eventually crashing into her trainer and knocking him down as well.

 

“Am I going too hard on you all?” Yung taunted the three, waving condescendingly with his free hand as he spoke. “Too bad! Team Rocket didn’t have the courage to see their Mewtwo project through to the end, so I finished it! You could only dream of having this power under your control!”

 

“So you took Polaris’s money and finished this system of yours?” Petrel put his hands on his hips and sighed. “Team Rocket abandoned that project and you go and do this… this is how you honor them? No wonder Giovanni thought you were insane.”

 

Something in what Petrel said struck a nerve in Yung, and he took a step back before screaming, “Mewtwo, Luster Purge!”

 

Mewtwo raised its arm toward Crobat. Its hand and much of its forearm congealed and transformed into the head and neck of a Latios, and it fired a wide purple energy beam at her using this new appendage. Instead of trying to counterattack, Crobat spun out of the way, recognizing how dangerous this was for her.

 

“So that’s what they say about me?” Something was different about the way Yung was speaking. His usual snide, smug demeanor was gone, and in its place, he seemed defensive and genuinely angry. “Giovanni says I’m insane? Thank you, I mean it… now I know what the last thing he’ll hear will be! I wonder what he’ll think to know that the one he labeled insane succeeded where he failed…”

 

While Matt struggled to get back up after being knocked down, Bunny turned to Petrel and asked, “Can you fill me in on what’s going on here?”

 

“When Team Rocket… when we created our Mewtwo, the experiment went sideways and all the scientists got blown away.” A look of sadness came onto Petrel’s face. “His mom and dad were two of them, and he’s never forgiven us.”

 

“Can you blame him?” Matt said, finally getting back on his feet.

 

“It was an accident!” Petrel countered. “Mewtwo was far more powerful than those poor researchers expected. We ordered up the most powerful Pokémon, we just didn’t know how it would end…”

 

“And you even failed at that!” Yung shouted. “I’ve finished my parents’ work. This Mewtwo standing before you is the most powerful Pokémon ever conceived. Using it, I’ll destroy Team Rocket! That’s why I joined Polaris, and I’ll get started with you.”

 

Matt grabbed Bunny’s arm and pulled her close to himself and Petrel. “We gotta hit this thing with combined force or it’s going to shrug off everything we throw at it.”

 

“I agree,” Bunny concurred. She pointed to herself and then to Petrel and said, “We’ll hit it with a combined attack. Matt, you go in after us.”

 

“Then let’s get going.” Facing Mewtwo, Petrel called out, “Shadow Ball!”

 

Bunny quickly picked up on Petrel’s lead and added, “Sky, you use Shadow Ball too!”

 

Floating side by side, Sky and Crobat took aim at Mewtwo. While Crobat only launched one Shadow Ball, Sky started spinning around, raining a number of the glowing orbs down on his target.

 

Mewtwo initially guarded against the assault by crossing its arms over its face. While they did take their toll on the Mirage Pokémon, whatever damage they inflicted wasn’t enough to do anything but make Mewtwo growl.

 

“Please,” Yung said, “don’t strain yourselves. You’re only going to make this hurt even more. Mewtwo, Meteor Mash!”

 

Behind his mask, Yung smirked. He held great confidence that the resistance he was facing would never overcome his Mirage Mewtwo, and eagerly anticipated showing them the hopelessness of their situation.

 

But when he ordered Meteor Mash, he made a fatal error.

 

As it was a projection of computer data and not an actual Pokémon, Mewtwo had no free will. It could only merely follow its creator’s instructions. As a result it didn’t even hesitate when it heard the call for Meteor Mash, but when it pulled its arm back to begin a punch, it opened up its defenses. Sky’s continuing barrage of Shadow Balls began buffeting its body. Eventually, the combined impact of many blows on its left side destroyed its left arm, which disappeared in a cloud of glowing hexagons.

 

“Mewtwo, no!” Yung cried. Mewtwo’s motions became choppy and its body became covered with static as the Mirage System tried to regenerate its missing limb.

 

While Yung tried to accelerate the process by entering commands on his controller, Matt took the initiative to order an attack of his own. Pointing directly at Mewtwo, he said, “Agnetha, Seed Bomb!”

 

Agnetha aimed directly for Mewtwo’s head and swung her two tails, sending a flurry of large seeds at it. At that moment, however, the glitches consuming Mewtwo’s body caused it to abruptly switch to a kneeling position. It was no longer in Seed Bomb’s path, but Yung was. He was so caught by surprise that he couldn’t get out of the way, and as a result, the seeds struck his mask.

 

Before he even realized it, the seeds cracked his mask, causing it to split apart and fall off, exposing his scarred face. Matt and Bunny jumped, startled by his grim appearance.

 

“The hell happened to your face?!” Matt blurted out.

 

The fact that his mask had fallen off hadn’t sunken in fully yet, so Yung reflexively brought his free hand to his face. When he felt his skin and not the plastic surface of the mask, he flew into a rage.

 

“You just don’t get it, do you…? Why we wear the masks…”

 

“What good are they? I knew I recognized your voice.”

 

“They are not to hide our identities, not all of them! The masks are a symbol, they show that we shed how this dying world sees us in preparation for our new, better world! I won’t end up like Séduire did when you unmasked her. This ends right now!”

 

Yung slammed his finger down on the controller’s largest key, causing another energy blast from the left-hand rod to flow into Mewtwo’s body. When the new energy attached itself to Mewtwo and textured itself, it took on the appearance of a gigantic, cannon-like claw with two antennae coming out of it.

 

“Don’t recognize what this is, do you?” he taunted, seeing the looks of surprise he was being met with. “This is the claw of a Pokémon from Kalos named Clawitzer. Its special ability is known as Mega Launcher, and it enhances the strength of aura and pulse moves… how would you like a taste? Mewtwo, show them! Dragon Pulse!”

 

Mewtwo pointed its new appendage at its enemies, and a significant amount of energy began to gather within the cannon-like claw, creating a bright glow that blinded Matt, Bunny and Petrel. Once it had enough of a charge, Mewtwo released the bright purple blast.

 

“Milotic, Dragon Pulse!”

 

All of a sudden, a second Dragon Pulse cut off Mewtwo’s, causing both to explosively cancel each other out. Matt and Bunny were nearly blown over by the force of the collision, while Petrel simply stood his ground and smiled.

 

“About time you showed up,” he chuckled to himself.

 

As the smoke from the blast cleared, Matt and Bunny got their first view of who had saved them. Team Rocket’s car had finally arrived, and Ada was standing next to it with her Milotic, clutching her laptop. The car’s top was down as well, allowing Trevor and Pierce to be seen, the latter of whom was preparing a bazooka-like device in the back of the vehicle.

 

“Team Rocket?” Bunny said, stunned.

 

Matt stared at the occupants of the car and blinked repeatedly, seemingly recognizing one of them. “Is that… no, it can’t be. That’s impossible, he wouldn’t be here. It doesn’t make sense.”

 

“I see you still have fans.” Pierce didn’t even bother to look up from his work as he addressed Trevor.

 

“I hope he pays attention to what’s going on and doesn’t get distracted by me.” Directing his focus on Yung, Trevor called out, “Yung, you slimy bastard! So this is where you ended up after we kicked you out!”

 

Yung took a step back. His anger wasn’t clouding his mind enough to blind him to how the numbers had turned against him. “You idiots were too naive to appreciate my work…” he growled, clutching the controller tightly. “It’s only right that I finished development of Mewtwo for Polaris. They knew the value of my vision! Mewtwo, show them what I’m talking about!”

 

Mewtwo turned and pointed its right arm at Milotic. Its hand transformed, much like it had earlier, taking on the appearance of a Zapdos head. A large sphere of electricity took shape in front of it, and with a snarl, Mewtwo flung the sparking orb at Ada’s Milotic.

 

“Milotic…” Ada’s voice was shaking, but she remained focused. “Mirror Coat!”

 

The Zap Cannon struck Milotic, and its energy quickly spread throughout her body. She forced herself to remain standing, however, and soon after the impact her skin took on a reflective sheen. An intensely powerful beam of light shot out of her, and it hit Mewtwo squarely in the chest.

 

The overwhelming force of Milotic’s counterattack finally caused significant damage to Mewtwo. It screamed toward the sky as the beam tore into its body, quickly destroying more and more that then turned into hexagons and tried to return to the Mirage System’s generators. Panicking, Yung tried to get the system to replace the parts of Mewtwo’s body that were being destroyed, but a stray bolt from the blast cracked toward him and struck the controller, destroying it.

 

As soon as the controller was broken, the two rods and the crystal generators all sparked and shorted out. Without the Mirage System to sustain its existence, Mewtwo suddenly went quiet, and its entire body evaporated into the air. Yung could only watch in silent shock as his weapon disappeared.

 

“Looks like your work still has a few holes in it,” Petrel teased once Mewtwo was entirely gone. “Look, let’s put an end to this farce now. Give us the Meteonite and we just might let you go.”

 

Before Yung could answer, the sound of a helicopter approaching filled the air. Realizing that this was the evacuation he’d been waiting for, Yung smirked triumphantly.

 

“You beat Mewtwo, but all you did was waste time.” When the helicopter flew over the train, a Polaris member dressed in the same uniform as the members on Thorton’s ship threw down a ladder. Yung took hold of it, then saluted to Matt, Bunny and the Team Rocket members. “Too bad you came out all this way, but it looks like I win! I’ll fix the Mirage System for our next meeting, so you can at least console yourselves with that!”

 

Once the ladder had been reeled up, allowing Yung into the helicopter, the craft flew to the back of the train and hovered over the freight car. A hatch on the roof of the freight car opened, allowing a crane attached to the bottom of the helicopter to reach in for the Meteonite.

 

“Are you just going to let them take…” Matt looked around and suddenly realized Petrel was gone. “Where’d he go?”

 

“There.” Bunny pointed down to the service road, where Petrel had joined his fellow Team Rocket members by descending on Crobat. “So he’s a coward. Big surprise.”

 

The crane, having taken hold of the Meteonite, began to rise back up. Yung watched from the chopper with a sense of smug satisfaction.

 

However, much to the surprise of both the Polaris members and Matt and Bunny as well, Team Rocket weren’t done after all. As soon as the Meteonite came into view, Pierce aimed the bazooka at it and fired, launching a claw that attached to the side of the large rock.

 

“We’ve got it!” Ada exclaimed, monitoring the energy with her laptop. “Pierce, hurry and reel it in!”

 

“Do they seriously think that’s going to work?” Matt sighed as he watched the claw’s cable tighten. “Carrying something that big with such a small cable?”

 

Hearing this, Trevor scoffed and said to Ada, “They think we’re using the cable, you believe that? Send out the capture disc.”

 

“Deploying capture disc,” she replied, typing away on her laptop.

 

A saucer-shaped device rose up from the back of the car and floated to a position beneath the Meteonite. Matt and Bunny watched, unsure of what was happening.

 

“You two may want to send your Pokémon back,” Trevor called up to them. “This ride might get a little bumpy.”

 

Bunny followed Trevor’s advice and sent Sky back to his Poké Ball. After a brief hesitation, Matt did so for Agnetha as well. They then looked back up to where Polaris’s chopper and Pierce’s claw gun pulled at the Meteonite from two different sides.

 

“Should we intervene?” Bunny uttered.

 

“What can we do? You know what those small Meteonites were capable of, who knows what might happen if we hit that big one?”

 

“So we just stand here?”

 

“Unless you’ve got a better idea, what can we do?”

 

Up in the helicopter, Yung wasn’t just watching like Matt and Bunny were. Standing just behind the pilot’s chair in the cockpit, he could see all the readings and screens spread out on the control panel.

 

“What are you waiting for?” he snapped at the pilot, tightening his grasp on the chair. “Pull away! We’re on a schedule, you know!”

 

“But, Jeunes, sir…” the pilot replied, “they’ve got a good grip on it! They’re holding us back…”

 

“Are you kidding me? Move!” Yung shoved the pilot out of his seat and took control of the helicopter himself. “I’ll show you how to get this done!”

 

Yung pulled back on the collective control stick in an attempt to force the helicopter upward. It did rise slightly, but the strength of the cable on Pierce’s weapon kept the Polaris members from escaping.

 

For a long, tense minute, nothing seemed to be happening. As the standoff wore on, however, a cracking noise started to reach the ears of those present.

 

“Is that what I think it is?” Bunny whispered.

 

Matt didn’t reply at first. Instead, he just kept staring at the Meteonite. When he did finally say something, his voice was raspy from the tension and fear he felt.

 

“Bunny, run! Now!”

 

Bunny didn’t have to ask why. She had seen the same thing he did - the increasing crack in the Meteonite taking shape around the grip of Pierce’s weapon’s claw. They both turned and ran toward the locomotive, but only made it as far as the end of the middle car before the Meteonite split into two pieces, causing a great blast of energy. Matt and Bunny were swept off their feet and thrown into the open hatch on the roof of the locomotive, which Yung had used earlier for his escape. Polaris’s chopper spun up into the air with the larger Meteonite piece still in its crane, while the capture disc sent out by Ada created a holographic container around the smaller piece so Team Rocket could take it.

 

“They just keep meddling…” Yung growled while trying to regain control of the helicopter. Once he managed to stabilize it, he said to the Polaris members with him, “It’s worthless to keep doing this any longer! Let’s just take what we have and hope it’s enough.”

 

The chopper flew away to the east, but Team Rocket weren’t paying attention to it. They were more concerned by the Meteonite’s energy continuing to react with the train and its tracks, producing showers of sparks.

 

“Oh no…” Ada fumbled, typing frantically as a look of panic came onto her face. “Oh no, this… this isn’t good!”

 

“What is it?” Pierce demanded as he recovered the contained Meteonite chunk.

 

“The energy is spreading through the Magnet Train and the paths… I don’t know what kind of effect it’s going to have, but we won’t be able to control it! The only thing we can do is avoid making it worse.”

 

“What’s the status of her side of the mission?” Trevor asked, choosing his words carefully in order to avoid exposing Nekou’s role.

 

-:-

 

Beneath Goldenrod City, little had changed. Nekou had continued her work while Olivia and Monroe stood guard, but nobody had come down to bother them.

 

“I’m getting bored,” Olivia complained. “Are you almost done?”

 

“Very close. I’ve got all the right switches thrown, all I have to do is just activate it. The only thing is that it might cause a little bit of a power surge as the system comes back online, but it’s nothing to worry about.”

 

Suddenly, she heard a chime in her ear. After hitting the key to start turning on the power, she tapped her ear, causing part of the left stem of her glasses to flip down and become a microphone.

 

“What is it? Yeah, I just turned the power back on, it’s rebooting now. What?” Nekou’s face sank as she heard what had happened with the Meteonite. “...oh shit.”

 

“What’s wrong?” questioned Monroe.

 

“We should probably get topside,” Nekou answered, folding up her computer. “Like, now. The shit might be about to hit the fan.”

 

-:-

 

Bunny pulled herself to her feet in the locomotive’s control booth, while Matt struggled to control the shaking that had overcome his body.

 

“Are you alright?” she asked in panic, extending a hand to him.

 

“C-Could be worse…” he shuddered. “Th-thankfully things like that don’t shut this body down entirely…”

 

Once they both were standing, they looked around at their situation. The only things in the booth were a single chair, a touchscreen keyboard and three large computer monitors. Both the keyboard and monitors were filled with error notices, and more kept coming every second.

 

“What is this?”

 

“The energy from the Meteonite, I’d bet,” Bunny ventured. “It’s corrupting the train’s programming…”

 

“Well, if it’s just corrupting the program, that’s not so bad, right? It could be worse.”

 

In a fit of irony, the moment the last syllable left Matt’s mouth, the train rocked and began to move.

 

“I have to stop running my mouth…”

 

Bunny ran to the side door, where she peered through a small window to the outside. What she saw caused her to tighten her fists. The trees lining the path of the tracks were going by at an increasingly rapid pace.

 

“We’re going back toward Goldenrod,” she tensely said.

 

Matt braced himself against the train’s motion. “And from the feeling of it, we’re speeding up.”

 

A realization came over them both, and they slowly turned to look at the keyboard and monitors.

 

At the same time, they both whispered, “What’s controlling the train?”

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, Ada, Trevor, Petrel and Pierce could only watch from their car as the train sped away from them in reverse. Pierce had secured the small piece of the Meteonite in its glowing case, but Ada was still outside the car, panicking as she looked at her laptop.

 

“Miss Nekou just turned the power back on… and there was a surge.. that combined with the Meteonite energy in the tracks just blew the whole system to hell and back!”

 

“Shit!” Trevor spat. “What now?”

 

“We have to go after them.” Pierce raised his head and yelled, “Ada, back in the car!”

 

-:-

 

“Oh fuck, oh fuck, what do we do, what do we do…”

 

“So let me get this straight.” Bunny leaned against the wall to balance herself. “We’re stuck on this train while it speeds back toward a major metropolitan area, with pretty much no hope of stopping it. We’re screwed, aren’t we?”

 

“I don’t know. I need help.” Putting his finger to his ear, Matt gasped, “Nekou, tell me you can hear this!”

 

“What? What happened?”

 

Matt stopped pacing. “Why do you think something happened?”

 

“Because I just turned the power back on and you call me sounding like you’re shitting yourself. What fucked up?”

 

Sighing at Nekou’s attitude, Matt tried to remain serious. “The Meteonite split in two and it released energy that corrupted the train’s controls, that’s what fucked up! Bunny and I are aboard a runaway train that’s heading for Goldenrod right now!”

 

There was a brief, tense silence before Nekou finally spoke again. “...shit. I was afraid of that.”

 

“What’s going to happen if we don’t stop this train?” Bunny blurted out, still eyeing the landscape past the window. “Ask her that!”

 

“Did you hear that?”

 

“No. Well, I heard Bunny saying something, but fuck if I could make it out.”

 

“She wants to know what’s going to happen if the train can’t be stopped.”

 

“From my quick calculations in my head, you should be going at a steadily increasing speed. Is that right?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Nekou hesitated, then said, “If that train keeps speeding up and is not stopped, eventually it’s going to get to the station. And when I say get to the station, I mean crash right the fuck into it. At the kind of speed you’ll be going, it’ll barrel right through the station wall and not stop until it hits the Radio Tower.” Nekou’s voice suddenly became unusually quiet. “If that tower falls, combined with the derailment itself… who knows how many people will die. Central Goldenrod will be reduced to complete chaos.”

 

Matt’s eye sank into his head, and his mouth slowly fell open. Picking up on his fear, Bunny started to become nervous as well.

 

“W-what did she say?” Bunny asked, clutching her arm.

 

“If… if we don’t stop this train… it’ll hit the station then the Radio Tower… and a lot of people are going to die.”

 

“What do we do? Ask her what we do!”

 

“Don’t bother, I heard it that time!” Nekou snapped. “Give me a minute to think!”

 

An uneasy silence settled over the room, lasting for what felt like forever. It wasn’t broken until Matt started to slowly reach into his bag.

 

“Bunny… remember what you said a minute ago? About us being stuck on a runaway train?”

 

“What about it?”

 

Slowly taking two Poké Balls out of his bag, Matt quietly said, “You aren’t stuck on this train. You can escape.”

 

The true meaning of Matt’s suggestion didn’t become apparent to Bunny until he released Cordelia from her Poké Ball. She stepped away from the wall, barely maintaining her balance as her legs became weak.

 

“No, we’re not doing that…” She leaned forward and seized his shoulder. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

 

“No, listen,” he insisted, pushing the other Poké Ball into Bunny’s hand. “You can help stop all of this. Take Cordelia and use Hethna to fly back to the station. Once you get there, have Hethna stand on the tracks and try to catch the train to stop it, while Cordelia uses Psychic to keep it from totally flying off the rails.”

 

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Bunny countered. “At this speed…” she flicked her eyes to the landscape speeding by outside before continuing, “...you’re just going to get yourself and your Pokémon killed.”

 

“If I stay here, I might be able to figure out a way to slow the train down. After that, Hethna’s big enough to bring it to a stop.”

 

Bunny hesitated. She had to admit to herself that there was some merit to his idea, but she didn’t expect it to work.

 

“Are you sure about this?” she asked quietly.

 

“It’s the best idea I’ve got.”

 

“Don’t mess your end up, then.”

 

“I’ll do my best.”

 

Armed with a plan for defusing the crisis, Bunny wobbled over to the door and forcefully pulled it open. The car immediately filled with the wind lashing by the train, sending Bunny’s hair blowing in all directions, but she disregarded it and stepped outside. From the narrow platform on the engine’s exterior, Bunny could see Team Rocket’s car speeding after them.

 

Bunny took a deep breath, then turned to Cordelia, who was floating alongside her. “Use Psychic and get us on some solid ground first, please?”

 

Though Bunny wasn’t her ordinary trainer, the Sigilyph still listened. Her three eyes filled with the same blue light that then surrounded Bunny, and with her power, Cordelia lifted Bunny off the train.

 

However, because of how heavily wooded the area was, the only readily available ground Cordelia could deposit Bunny on was the service road next to the tracks. Trevor saw her being lowered into his path and slammed his foot on the brakes, causing the car to skid and spin out. Luckily, he had reacted quickly enough for the vehicle to stop before it hit Bunny. All four Team Rocket members jumped out once they stopped.

 

“Damn it!” Trevor spat, slamming his hand on the car’s roof as he watched the train shrink into the distance.

 

Rising to her feet, Bunny took a moment to watch the train herself before turning to face the four Team Rocket members.

 

“We share the same cause right now,” Pierce said, stepping forward. “Come with us. We can offer you assistance.”

 

“No,” Bunny sharply answered, tossing Hethna’s Poké Ball into the air. “We have our own plan.”

 

Matt’s Golurk took shape in a burst of light, and Bunny climbed up on its shoulder.

 

“W-What are you doing?”

 

Bunny ignored Ada’s question and instead tapped Hethna’s arm. “Hethna, Matt wants you to get me back to the station in Goldenrod and fast. You up for it?”

 

Hethna grunted in assent, then retracted its hands and legs into its body, transforming its arms and central sections into rockets. Trevor, Ada and the others could only watch as the Golurk lifted into the air and blasted off toward Goldenrod City.

 

“Miss Nekou was right about her…” Ada commented.

 

“Headstrong was an understatement. We’ll have to watch her…” Pierce turned to his teammates and shouted, “Let’s go! We can’t lose any more time!”

 

-:-

 

Matt dropped himself in the chair at the trains controls and rested his head on his hand.

 

“I’m useless…” he said out loud, thinking he was alone. “...just like always. What good am I?”

 

“Stop fucking talking like that.” Matt hadn’t realized that Nekou could still hear him through the microphone. “Besides, I thought of something.”

 

“What?” Matt jumped slightly in the seat, having been surprised by hearing her voice. “What’s your idea?”

 

“You might be able to force your way into the train’s computer and shut it down. The software isn’t really that intricate, you’ll just have to get through all the errors. I can try to help you with it.”

 

-:-

 

Somewhere far away from the unfolding crisis in Goldenrod City, Finansielle and Archer were walking together on a path in an underground temple. The cavernous chambers formed a labyrinth of paths surrounded by pools with flowers floating on the water, and ornately carved marble columns and arches rose up and overhead.

 

Their walk was suddenly interrupted when Finansielle’s phone began ringing. She took it out, and the two stopped moving.

 

“Hello, what is it? Alright, good. Well, even if you only got most of it, I’m sure it’s enough for Colress to work with.” Though her mood was at first positive, her face twisted into a look of annoyance shortly after. “You lost your… oh, you’re kidding, right?”

 

“That’s Jeunes, right?” Archer asked. When Finansielle nodded, he further inquired, “What happened?”

 

“He got most of the Meteonite, but Team Rocket took a small piece of it.”

 

“That can’t be what’s upsetting you.”

 

“He lost his mask. Matt, his friend, and several Team Rocket members saw his face.”

 

Archer sighed. “In that case, he knows the consequences.”

 

“Sorry, can’t get you out of trouble here,” Finansielle said into the phone. “Archer has reiterated it. You know what happens to a Chromosome who is unmasked. Just get back here.”

 

When Finansielle hung up the phone, Archer smirked. “He can’t be happy about that.”

 

“He’s not,” she confirmed. “Just docking him the rights for this meeting should be enough to scare him straight, though.”

 

-:-

 

As Bunny arrived at her destination, she could see the continuing protests on the Goldenrod streets. They had spread from the main street into the smaller ones and were now blocking the Global Terminal, Radio Tower and train station.

 

“Oh hell, this isn’t good.” Bunny wiped her forehead, suddenly glad she had aerial transport and didn’t have to go through the streets. “These people have to clear out, now… Hethna, take me down.”

 

Hethna redirected its rockets and descended into the freight area at the back of the station. Bunny immediately climbed down, then returned Hethna to its Poké Ball and ran inside. Instead of heading for the platform, like she had before, she went straight to the front lobby.

 

Just as she entered the lobby, which was sealed off to the street, Olivia and Monroe came running up a flight of stairs on the other side of the room.

 

“Bunny!” Olivia called out.

 

“Are you two alright?” Bunny fell to her knees and threw her arms around her young friends. “It’s such a relief to see you two safe with everything that’s going on.”

 

“We’re fine, but this isn’t over yet, is it? Nekou looked like she was pretty panicked…”

 

“I hate to say it, Olivia, but you’re right. This situation just got a whole lot worse. Where is Nekou anyway?”

 

“She’s still down in the tunnels,” Monroe answered, gesturing with his head toward the stairs he and Olivia had come up. “She told us to go on ahead and look for you here.”

 

“That was probably a good idea considering the kind of danger we’re in. Better to stick together.”

 

“So what now?” Olivia wondered.

 

“We’ve got a plan worked out,” Bunny said, standing and turning for the gate to the tracks. “Come on, I don’t want you two out of my sight.”

 

Olivia nodded, grabbed Monroe’s arm, and closely followed Bunny as she went to the gate.

 

-:-

 

“Damn it!” Matt swore, slamming his fist down on the glitching keyboard. “Nekou, it’s too fried. I know you tried but I can’t crack this.”

 

“I was afraid of that…”

 

“So what now?!” Matt nearly pulled his glasses off, but caught himself and stopped. Instead, he put his trembling hands on the control console and forced his body up. “What do I do? I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

 

“You’re not going to fucking die!” Nekou snapped. “Just let me think!”

 

The force of the train’s motion caught up with Matt, causing him to lose his balance and fall back into the chair. He stared at his sunken expression, reflected in the computer screen, and began trying to resign himself to his fate.

 

 _“So after everything that happened, this is how I go out…”_  he thought.

 

“Wake up!” Nekou suddenly booming in his ear woke Matt from his daze. “I thought of something. That’s a Polaris train, but the build of it is a pretty typical factory standard. If they didn’t modify the design of it, there should be a kill switch to cause a gradual reduction in power until it stops.”

 

This news caused Matt’s mood to brighten slightly. “Alright, good. How do I activate the code?”

 

“It’s not a kill code, I said kill _switch_. You have to listen.”

 

“Alright, sorry.” Matt steadied himself on the computer. The more he thought about Nekou’s words, a growing feeling of dread started to come over him, and he whispered, “Where’s this kill switch then?”

 

“Outside the cab. Go out the right-hand door and it should be on the side of the train just a couple feet away.”

 

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Weakly pushing himself to his feet, Matt dragged himself over to the door. “If something happens to me, take care of Olivia.”

 

“Nothing’s going to…” Nekou’s voice suddenly became serious, almost compassionate. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. Just be careful and you’ll come back fine.”

 

“Thanks… I appreciate that.”

 

Matt started toward the door, only to be thrown against it by a sudden rocking of the train. Recovering, he steadied himself, opened the door and stumbled outside into the violent wind. His hat was blown away the moment the wind caught it, but he had other concerns, namely that the only thing stopping him from being ground into the tracks was the thin guardrail he was leaning on. When he saw just how close he was to falling off the narrow catwalk, a shaky groan escaped his lips.

 

_“What did she drag me into…”_

 

Tightening his grip on the rail, Matt braced himself against the wind and pushed himself up. Off in the distance, he could see the Goldenrod skyline rapidly increasing in size on the horizon.

 

“N-Nekou, help me!” he gasped, balancing himself using the the rail and the side of the locomotive. He found himself breathing rapidly and becoming somewhat lightheaded. “Where is this switch?!”

 

“It should be right close to you! Feel around for a square panel sticking out from the engine!”

 

With his hair and coat violently lashing around him, Matt struggled forward, running his left hand over the wall as he advanced. It wasn’t long before he discovered the panel Nekou had described, however, when he realized there was a cover over the switch, his legs became weak. He then looked over his shoulder at the looming image of Goldenrod City and felt his stomach sink.

 

“Can’t one thing go smoothly here?” he groaned.

 

He continued to feel around the panel and eventually found a small ridge he could work his fingers into. Once he had a good grip, he took a deep breath and began to pull, exerting all the strength his mechanical arm gave him. The cover did not immediately give way, and as a result of Matt making a sustained effort to force it, his arm began to strain and spark.

 

Eventually, however, a single bolt popped off the cover, followed shortly by a second. Once a few of the bolts had fallen away, the entire thing ripped off the locomotive in one violent, fluid motion. It was so abrupt that Matt spun around and crashed face-down on the catwalk from the force.

 

From where he had fallen, Matt could see quite clearly how close he was to the danger of the tracks. He stared for only a moment, though, before he struggled back up against the wall and reached for the now-exposed switch.

 

“There’s a handle under here!” he yelled over the wind. “Is this it?”

 

“Should be!” Nekou replied. “Pull it!”

 

“Here goes nothing…”

 

Tightening his fingers around the handle, Matt took another deep breath and pulled it down. Within seconds, he could feel the motion of the train beginning to slow, even if the deceleration was slight.

 

“I think it worked!” he exclaimed, leaning against the wall.

 

“Now get back inside and tell me what you see!”

 

Following Nekou’s direction, Matt slid back to the door, not standing back up until he had safely rolled back into the cab.

 

The computer screens were no longer glitching and filling with errors. Instead, a single box was displayed, reading “power down status” over a progress reading that currently showed 97%. That number kept decreasing right before Matt’s eyes, and standing became easier with every drop.

 

“Nekou, it worked!” he exclaimed, relief flooding over his mind. “The power is dropping like a rock!”

 

“And now we wait.”

 

Matt suddenly felt like his heart had stopped. “For what?”

 

“To see if the power-down is enough to stop you from crashing.”

 

Clutching the strap of his bag, Matt thought, _“Bunny, come on…”_

 

-:-

 

While the runaway train was barreling toward Goldenrod, Bunny was floating above the city, holding onto Sky with one hand and clutching a megaphone she’d found in the station with the other. From her vantage point, she could see Hethna and Cordelia waiting in position a distance down the tracks.

 

Olivia and Monroe were waiting on the roof of the station and watched as Bunny descended closer to the crowds outside.

 

“Listen to me!” she called down to them using the megaphone. “There’s a runaway train coming this way! Get away from here now!”

 

Bunny could not make out the cacophony of a response from the crowd, but from its tone she could tell they weren’t going to listen. She was forced to rise up in the air again when someone threw a rock up at her.

 

“Are your adventures always this crazy?” Monroe asked Olivia.

 

“I’ve seen some shit,” Olivia replied with a slight smile. “I don’t think I’d trade it away for anything, though. Not after all I’ve been through.”

 

“I wish my life was as interesting as yours…”

 

Before they could converse any further, Bunny intervened. “Get ready! This is it!”

 

Olivia put the binoculars she was holding to her face, then passed them to Monroe so he could see as well.

 

Off in the distance, the train collided with Hethna, who attempted to hold it back. The impact threw Matt backward through the glowing Polaris door and into the middle car. Cordelia, meanwhile, helped by flying after the train and using Psychic in an attempt to drag it down further.

 

At the hotel, Rowena rushed out onto the balcony of her room, Cinccino following shortly after.

 

“This is incredible!” she said, pointing her camera in the direction of the oncoming train. “The perfect footage to wrap this story!”

 

As the train came closer to the station, the sound of Hethna’s feet grinding against the tracks got louder and louder. The crowd couldn’t hear it, but their protest was disrupted when sirens on the streets began blaring.

 

 _“This is an emergency broadcast from the Radio Tower,”_  the speakers rang out when the alarms ceased. _“A runaway train is rapidly approaching Magnet Station. An evacuation order of the central Goldenrod Plaza is in effect. Please leave immediately.”_

 

“They’re lying to get rid of us!” one of the protesters screamed.

 

Instead of getting them to leave, the evacuation notice simply whipped the crowd into even more of a frenzy. They advanced on the Radio Tower, chanting various threats in their rage, but an unexpected interruption soon came.

 

“Holy shit, there really is a runaway train!” another of the crowd shouted, having spotted Hethna being pushed back closer and closer to the station.

 

That one protester fleeing the plaza caused more of them to look, and all of them saw the same thing he had. Within seconds the streets had gone from fury to full-on panic as the crowds frantically fled for the second time in as many days.

 

In the midst of the chaos, Nekou came running up into the station from the tunnels and exited the station.

 

“Shit!” she exclaimed when she saw the hordes of people running past her.

 

Before she realized it, Olivia and Monroe had come down through the station and rejoined her.

 

“Is everything going to be okay?” Olivia demanded, her voice quivering.

 

“I really fucking hope so…”

 

A horrible screeching nearby caused all three of them to turn around. Up above them, the train was forcing Hethna into the station. It had slowed significantly, but Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe all knew just from looking that it was still going too fast.

 

After grinding through the platform, the train forced Hethna through the back wall, but not at a high enough speed to propel itself into the Radio Tower as had been feared. The Golurk fell out first, followed by the three train cars falling on and around it in a crumpled heap.

 

“Matt was still on there!” Bunny shrilled as Sky brought her down.

 

“Don’t you fucking think I know that?!” Nekou shot back. “Come on!”

 

Nekou led Bunny, Olivia and Monroe over the piles of bricks scattered about the street and onto the wreckage of the train itself. They fanned out in a small cluster and began picking through what they could.

 

“Matt!” Olivia called out, looking around for any sign of him.

 

Monroe repeated her plea, then added, “I don’t want to go have to tell Amanda you’re gone!”

 

Just as Monroe finished, the sound of metal scraping on metal attracted the group’s attention. They turned and saw a broken piece of what was once the middle car shifting.

 

“Cordelia, help him out,” Bunny directed, gesturing at the piece of wreckage. “Psychic!”

 

The blue light of the Sigilyph’s Psychic surrounded the wreckage, pulled it into the air and tossed it aside. One of Matt’s cybernetic hands emerged, his glove having torn away to reveal the silver metal underneath.

 

Nekou and Bunny immediately ran to him, with the former taking his hand and the latter pushing away more chunks of wreckage to clear a path for him to be pulled free. Once enough was moved aside for his other hand to reach out, Nekou pulled him up. He looked ragged, with his coat torn in a number of places and cuts all over his face.

 

“You look like shit,” Nekou said, a warm smile coming onto her face.

 

“Feel like it too,” he admitted. “You guys… you all really came together to fix this…”

 

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Nekou suddenly grabbed Matt’s face and kissed him, leaving not only him but Bunny, Olivia and Monroe stunned. “You didn’t do so bad. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up. I want to show you something.”

 

Matt stumbled when he tried to walk, so Nekou and Bunny supported him by letting him drape his arms over their shoulders. However, before they left, Bunny recalled Hethna and Cordelia to their Poké Balls and returned them to Matt.

 

-:-

 

Several holographic screens surrounded Giovanni in the back of his car, having been generated by Rosalie through her wheelchair’s computer. Pierce, Petrel, Ada and a “SOUND ONLY” box representing Trevor were on one, while Jessie, James, Meowth and Ariana were on a second and Zager was on a third. Two more displayed footage of the events that had happened in and around Goldenrod City.

 

“...so to sum it up,” Ada was in the middle of explaining, “we have acquired a small piece of the Meteonite, but Polaris got away with the bigger piece. The Chromosome called Jeunes is indeed our former scientist Mitchell Yung, and he’s still working on his Mirage System.”

 

“If Polaris is funding his research, then he’s surely made significant advances,” Zager warned. “We will have to beware, if they are using his Mirage System as a weapon.”

 

“I can confirm they are. He fought with Executive Petrel, Matt Chiaki and Bunny Spruce using a Mirage Mewtwo. I… I managed to defeat it with my Milotic.”

 

“Well done, Ada,” Giovanni complimented his subordinate. “Petrel, did you manage to accomplish your mission?”

 

“It’s all here,” replied the bearded Executive. He smiled and held up a flash drive marked with Team Rocket’s logo. “When nobody was paying attention, I copied the database of the Purine Ba… excuse me, the Battle Factory.”

 

“Good work. Pierce, I want you to deliver the Meteonite piece in your possession along with the drive containing the Battle Factory’s data to Zager after we meet up in Olivine City. Zager, your job is to decode the data on that drive so we can gain a better understanding of what Polaris plans to do, and hopefully we’ll also find out what they’re going to use the Meteonite for.”

 

“It will be done, Boss,” Pierce said.

 

“Understood, Giovanni, sir,” Zager concurred.

 

“Now…” Giovanni turned his head and questioned, “what of your mission, Ariana?”

 

“We stole one crate of Pokémon,” she weakly answered. “They should prove to be beneficial assets for us.”

 

“Hey, give us the credit we deserve!” Meowth shouted.

 

Seeing Giovanni’s inquisitive look, Jessie reported, “We completely defeated Factory Head Thorton, aka Chromosome Getriebe, in the course of stealing these Pokémon, sir.”

 

“Very good. I’m impressed with your work. Overal…”

 

“Giovanni, sir, there’s something else.”

 

“Do not interrupt the boss while he is speaking,” Pierce sharply rebuked James.

 

“No, Pierce, I want to hear this. I have a feeling it will be important.”

 

James gulped, then said, “We planted a bug on Polaris’s ship, sir. We overheard Thorton and his followers discussing something they called Oberon…”

 

“Did you say Oberon?” Pierce blurted out.

 

“Do you recognize that name?” Rosalie asked.

 

“I know it,” Proton chimed in from the drivers’ seat of the car. “Isn’t it a character in a play?”

 

“Indeed,” Trevor added. “They even made a few movies out of it.”

 

“No, you don’t understand.” A look of worry had come onto Pierce’s face, a mood unusual for him. “That play was based on a Tenganist myth from three thousand years ago. The myth talked about a king whose treasure gave him the ability to control a Pokémon we don’t have in this modern era. If the myth is true, then Polaris may have obtained something very dangerous.”

 

Giovanni shut his eyes and sighed. “I will have to collect the full stories from all of you in Olivine. Right now, we must focus on preparation. If what happened in Goldenrod City is merely their warmup act, then what Polaris plans to do in Ecruteak is going to be much worse.”

 

-:-

 

Several hours later, Nekou slipped into a restroom at the bar and restaurant she’d taken the others to and locked the door. She lazily walked up to the marble sink in the room and looked at herself in the mirror. The lamps mounted in the wall around the mirror cast a dramatic shadow across her face.

 

After running some water over her hands and using it to wipe down her face and neck, she dried them off on her coat and took out her phone. With the press of a single icon, Giovanni appeared on the screen. He was petting Persian, whose head slightly emerged into the frame.

 

“Lalume, I want to hear good news.”

 

“My apologies, Boss, but I couldn’t stop them from getting involved. However, the only reason a disaster was prevented was because I had their help.”

 

“I’ve heard from Ada and the others about your work. You did well in stopping Polaris from causing a catastrophe, but I warn you, Lalume, you must be careful. Involving others in Team Rocket’s mission is a dangerous risk.”

 

“I know, Boss, but with all due respect… Matt Chiaki may seem like he’s spineless, but I have a gut feeling he will be a valuable asset to us. We should keep him actively on our side to defeat Polaris.”

 

“I will leave that to you, then. You know him best. The next place I expect you is Ecruteak City, where I want you to investigate a Tenganist myth called the Oberon. We will meet for the operation then. Do not disappoint me.”

 

Without giving Nekou a chance to respond, Giovanni cut the connection and disappeared from her phone.

 

“Aw, fuck,” she swore, looking up at the ceiling. “At least this ought to be a fun time.”

 

Nekou shook her head, smiled, and left the restroom. A long bar stretched along the wall to her right, eventually turning to also run along a giant window that provided a vast view of Goldenrod’s brightly lit skyline under the clear night sky. The rest of the floor was covered by tables draped with fine tablecloths, and a small band was set up against the left wall.

 

Walking past a table where Bunny, Olivia and Monroe were eating, Nekou collected a bottle of beer and sat down next to Matt at the windowside bar.

 

“Hey,” she said.

 

“Hey…”

 

“Aw, is that it?” Nekou teased. “I come to sit with you and that’s all I get?”

 

“Thanks for treating us to this…” Matt had his face buried in his drink and was mumbling, making it difficult for Nekou to hear him. “I just keep thinking about being back on that train.”

 

“You don’t have to.” Putting her hand on his leg, she continued, “I meant what I said before. You need to give yourself credit for your part in saving the city.”

 

“Credit for what?” he snapped before backing down. “Sorry. I just… after all of that, what was it for? Polaris is right about how divided this city is.”

 

“Shit, you really get out of it when you drink, don’t you? Look at me.” Matt didn’t turn his head fast enough, so Nekou grabbed his face and turned it herself. He found himself looking right into her blazing eyes. “Stop talking like that. You did the right thing today. Go ahead, look out there.”

 

Both of them turned their gazes to the sprawling city beneath them. “What about it?” he questioned.

 

“It’s true that there’s a lot of people struggling to get by out there,” Nekou wistfully said. “But you know what else is true? When I look out there, I see people who have hope that they can make things better. I believe that those people would rather get a better tomorrow for themselves, but Polaris wants them to just look for an easy way out. People can’t live like that, that’s why we have to keep trying to beat Polaris. Do you get it? When I look out there, I see an ugly yet beautiful city that needs to both protect and be protected. You know, kind of like you.”

 

“What?!” Matt exclaimed, spinning back around in his seat to face her again.

 

“Relax, I’m fucking with you.”

 

“Good,” he said, going back to sulking into his drink. “That’s not true about me at all. I wouldn’t have cared if I got killed on that train…” Because he wasn’t looking at her, he couldn’t see how Nekou’s expression had quickly darkened. “It wouldn’t have mattered. Once I have the truth I’m looking for, there’s nothing left for me to live for anyway…”

 

Before Matt even realized what was going on, Nekou had stood and seized him by the collar. Using all her strength, she managed to lift him up singlehandedly.

 

“Stop fucking talking like that…” she growled. Her bangs blocked her eyes from Matt’s sight, but as he looked down her arm at her, he had a perfect idea of what they looked like. “Stop it! Just stop it! Do you know what happens when you die? You go to sleep and never wake up and then you rot in the fucking ground! So stop giving me this shit about how miserable you are when you have no fucking clue what it feels like to be that alone!”

 

“A...alright…” Matt uttered in shock. “I’m… I’m sorry…”

 

“Good.” As abruptly as it came, Nekou’s wild lashing out abated. She let him go, nearly causing him to crumple to the floor, which he would have if he didn’t catch himself on the bar.

 

“Are you two done with your little fight?” Bunny interrupted, standing nearby with Olivia and Monroe. When Matt and Nekou both nodded, she said, “Olivia has something she wants to tell you.”

 

“What is it, Olivia?” Nekou asked.

 

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I talked to Bunny and Monroe about it, and…” Crossing her arms behind her back, she hesitated, then said, “I figured out what I want to do.”

 

Shaking off his malaise, Matt managed to regroup and stand up straight. “Is that so? What is it?”

 

Olivia stared into Matt’s eye with an intensity that caught him by surprise. “We’re going to keep fighting Polaris. I’m going to keep fighting Polaris. What I saw today, my dad would hate what they’re trying to do. My dad did everything he did to try and bring people together with Pokémon. Now that I know he’s not coming back, I’m going to do the same thing and stop Polaris from dividing them.”

 

While Matt hung back, considering what Olivia had said, Nekou walked up to her, leaned down and draped her arms over Olivia’s shoulders.

 

“I’m proud of you, Olivia. That’s a very grown up decision to make.”

 

-:-

 

The first two things to greet Looker as he awoke were the sound of water dripping and a chill that ran up his skin. He stared at the ceiling of the cave for some time before he tried to move, only to find that his left arm was fixed in a sling.

 

“Go get her,” a male voice nearby called out. “He’s waking up.”

 

The realization that there were others around prompted Looker to force himself to sit up. His body strained just to perform even that simple motion, so he had to catch his breath before looking around at his surroundings.

 

Several of the Tenganists stood around the chamber, but what surprised the detective the most was the presence of his old prisoner, Jacob Alexison, sitting on the table next to him.

 

“Alexison!” Looker groaned. “What sort of plan for escape have you implemented?”

 

“I didn’t escape,” the old man replied. “We might both even be prisoners right now.”

 

“Whatever might you be talking about?”

 

“Us.”

 

Both Jacob and Looker turned from each other, only to see the Prophet and several of her followers standing before them.

 

“Explain these events of happening this right instant!” Looker snapped. “Who are you being?”

 

“In due time, Agent Looker.” The Prophet handed her baby to Alesia before she continued speaking. “You are at the Sinjoh Ruins, what remains of the Tenganist… what remains of our holy land. You two are the only survivors of our bombing of the Magnet Train, which was an accident, as we were targeting what we believed to be a train containing Polaris members. On behalf of all of my people, I apologize.”

 

“An apology? Please!” Looker stumbled to his feet and thrust his finger at the Prophet. “Why should I be accepting of that? I should be apprehending you all as the terrorists you are being right this very moment!”

 

“I do not blame you. That is your job, and if you so wish to arrest me, once you have recovered, I will surrender willingly. But first, I have much to tell you that I believe will change your mind about good and evil here. First, you asked who I am.” The Prophet spread her arms. “I had a happy, peaceful life once. Because of Ghetsis and Polaris at large, that was taken from me. Now, all I am is Azrael, the angel sent to bring the death of Polaris.”

 

-:-

 

Most of the members of the Sacred Helix had gathered in one way or another for their conference. Cassy and Yung were absent entirely, so their seats were empty and the spotlights on them were turned down. Ghetsis, Thorton, Mercury and Geminus were displayed in hologram form, while Archer, Praeses, Finansielle and Athleta were present in person.

 

“What a complete fiasco,” Praeses grumbled into his clasped hands. “This was supposed to have been a simple operation. Ghetsis’s followers would stir up the people of Goldenrod City to win support for our cause, then Getriebe would take the Pokémon while Jeunes would take care of the Meteonite. There was never supposed to be this kind of interference.”

 

“Is that why Jeunes is not here?” Geminus asked.

 

“Jeunes was unmasked by Matt Chiaki, Bunny Spruce and the members of Team Rocket,” Archer revealed to the others. “He has been given his rightful punishment under our customs by being removed temporarily from this panel.”

 

“Do not speak as if you have no role in this,” Athleta said to Archer. “Team Rocket was your responsibility. You were the one who used to operate within their ranks.”

 

“I must confess my own shortcomings in that regard. I didn’t expect such an ambitious attack. Clearly, though we had believed Team Rocket was crippled, they are still capable of active interference.”

 

“I am more concerned about Matt Chiaki. Why does he keep turning up and derailing our work? Is he working with Team Rocket?”

 

Mercury hesitated, then answered Geminus by saying, “We have no reason to believe that there is an active link between…”

 

“Yes we do,” Thorton interrupted. “The Admin-rank Team Rocket member Nekou Lalume is one of his allies. We have every reason to believe they are actively colluding.”

 

“For now, I think we should simply observe those four. There may be a way to turn them into our tools if we continue to monitor their activity and respond accordingly. Getriebe, what is the current progress of your work?”

 

“We are planning to continue gathering data on Pokémon battling and strategy at the Adenosine Base, Finansielle. With the Meteonite we collected, Colress believes he will be able to finish mapping out the way to create our new Pokérus. Meanwhile, Jeunes and I will be working on gathering further data. I intend to combine the data I collected at the Purine Base with the data that can be gathered by our followers’ use of the Battle Sim hardware provided to us.”

 

“Excellent. I see my funding of your research was worthwhile, as my investments always are.”

 

“Now!” Archer raised his arms to silence the others. “The final part of phase one of Project Genesis is at hand. Ghetsis, I trust that you will not disappoint us, but my faith in you is rapidly running out.”

 

“How dare you!” Ghetsis snapped, waving his cane at Archer even though he wasn’t even in the same room. “You are merely a substitute until Father returns. Do not speak to me in such a…”

 

“Father’s faith in you is rapidly running out as well,” Finansielle coldly stated. “I have spoken to him. Ecruteak City is your last chance.”

 

With Ghetsis rendered speechless, Athleta took the opportunity to speak. “I would like to make a proposal to the Sacred Helix. Due to the consistent failure of the Third Chromosome to keep his affairs in order, I would like to send a trainer from my own division to Ecruteak City as support.”

 

“The motion is accepted and shall now go to a vote. I, Archer, the representative of the First Chromosome, Father, vote yes!”

 

“I, the Second Chromosome Praeses, vote yes!”

 

Ghetsis scowled and declared, “I vote no!”

 

“I, the Fourth Chromosome Finansielle…” After shooting a smirk at Ghetsis, Finansielle said, “I vote yes.”

 

“I, the Sixth Chromosome Mercury, vote yes.”

 

“I, the Ninth Chromosome Getriebe, vote yes!”

 

“I, the Tenth Chromosome Geminus, vote yes!”

 

“And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.” Archer couldn’t help letting a hint of smugness slip into his voice. “By a vote of six to one, the motion put forth by Seventh Chromosome Athleta is approved. Is there any further business?”

 

“You listen here!” Ghetsis roared. “I will not stand for this meddling in the task given to me by…”

 

Without batting an eye, Archer cut Ghetsis’s feed, making his hologram vanish. He then said, “I will take that as a no. Return to your work, Chromosomes. We are reaching very important days.”

 

-:-

 

In his laboratory, Zager took out an old bottle of wine and a glass from his cabinet. With Galvantula warily watching him, he slouched into a chair. After considering using the glass, he put it aside, opened the bottle and simply drank the wine right out of it.

 

“I know I was saving this, Galvantula,” he said sadly. “Now feels like as good a time as any, though. I fear what is going to happen next, and I’m the one with blood on his hands.” Lowering his eyes to an object on the table next to his chair, he continued, “I thought I was doing good and yet I have done so much bad… There is no going back for me. I have to keep doing what must be done to right what I did for Polaris… and to you. If we ever meet again I beg that you’ll forgive me.”

 

The object was an old, faded file folder packed full of papers. Its edges were frayed, but what was on it was still clear. It bore a large Polaris logo and the name ‘C. Langley’ stamped on it.

  
  
  


  **END of CHAPTER 15**

 


	16. The Pursuit of the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the various factions regroup after the battle of Goldenrod City and prepare for what will come, Matt begins his challenge of the Battle Cafe and finds himself against a surprising opponent.

This chapter’s going to be a lot shorter and less intense than the last few.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 16:** The Pursuit of the Truth

 

-:-

 

A strange calm settled over Goldenrod City in the hours after the near-disaster with the Magnet Train. The area around the Radio Tower and train station had been closed off, and enough of the protesters had left that it was easy for the police to deal with anyone left trying to cause trouble on the streets.

 

The night was clear and quiet, with many stars spread through the sky. Their light shined into the group’s hotel suite, providing a soft glow over their rooms as they slept.

 

It was well into the late night hours when Matt was awoken by the feeling of movement next to him.

 

“Huh?” he groaned.

 

“Shut the fuck up and go back to sleep. I’m not really here.”

 

Matt sighed, but he didn’t roll over. He knew what sight would greet him.

 

“I thought you were sleeping in Olivia’s room.”

 

“Well I’m not,” Nekou snapped. “Now I said shut the fuck up and go back to sleep.”

 

As he felt Nekou shifting around next to him, Matt let his eyes wander to the ceiling. He was awake enough to realize that something odd was going on.

 

“Are you okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”

 

“Sometimes I can’t get drunk enough to sleep. There, does that make you happy?”

 

This moved Matt enough to make him roll over. He expected to see Nekou right in his face, like the last time she had snuck into bed with him, but instead, she had her back to him and was partially curled into the fetal position.

 

“This…” Matt’s face sank as he realized this wasn’t another of Nekou’s tricks. “This isn’t right, I know it. What’s wrong?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it!” She curled up tighter, then said in a tense whisper, “Fuck. You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

 

“I’m just trying to help…” He started to extend a hand toward her shoulder, but thought better of it and pulled back.

 

“Have you ever been somewhere where it’s just you? Where you’re cold and alone and…”

 

“I had nobody else to rely on for a long time, you know that.”

 

“Fuck, you just don’t get it, do you?” Nekou’s voice was becoming sad and hollow, despite her attempts to keep sounding tough. “I’m talking about a place where it’s totally empty and cold and it’s just you, lost in that void…”

 

“I… I don’t understand.” Matt was being honest; while he was trying to empathize with what Nekou was saying, he was nearly hopelessly lost trying to figure out what she meant.

 

“I didn’t think you would.” As she spoke, she continued to curl tighter and tighter. “I’ve been there. It’s in my fucking dreams, all the time… literally, just that cold, empty darkness, and me floating there. You know what I think it is? I think that’s what it feels like to die.”

 

“Why…” Matt’s words suddenly caught in his throat as the implication of her words finally dawned on him. “Back at the bar, when I said I wanted to…”

 

“You don’t know what it’s like to die,” she said, seemingly confirming his suspicion. “But I do. The dreams feel like memories to me.”

“I don’t… how is that possible?”

 

“I don’t know,” Nekou admitted. “But I’ve been there. I know it. I just… I know I’ve been there. Every time I have that dream I just know I’m living my own death, and…”

 

“Enough,” Matt quietly said, finally setting his hand on her shoulder. She flinched at first, but then relaxed. “Don’t talk about it anymore. If you want to stay here, you can.”

 

Nekou shrank further into the bed. She swore into the pillow, but before he rolled back over, Matt thought he heard her thank him.

 

-:-

 

The next morning was as clear as the night that preceded it. A bright sun cast warmth across most of Johto, though one place whose air was still brisk was Blackthorn City, deep in the northern mountains.

 

Renzo was well aware of the temperature as he ventured toward the city with a bag full of supplies given to him by the Tenganists. He pulled up his scarf to cover his mouth and nose, unwilling to make the same mistake that had nearly killed him again.

 

As he entered the city limits, he quickly sought out a place to sit down. Finding a nearby park bench on the side of the road, he hurriedly sat down and pulled out a map.

 

“Let’s see here…” he said to himself, looking over the diagram of the city. “The Pokémon Center is here, and the Gym is here. That means that the Dragon’s Den should be right…” He ran his finger up the map and settled it on a point north of most of the city. “...here.”

 

Renzo stood, put the map back in his bag and set off toward his destination. Blackthorn City had only barely begun to be touched by the urbanization affecting much of the region, so within minutes he reached dirt roads that led away from the more modern buildings in the south. He soon passed the Blackthorn Gym, a stately mansion with two Dragonite statues set outside its gate. Just beyond the building was a lake.

 

At first, there appeared to be no readily available way to cross the lake. However,  upon closer examination of the area, Renzo found a narrow cliff path that skirted the water. Without hesitation he set off, careful not to fall in the lake, which he was certain was icy cold.

 

When he got to the end of the path, he found himself on a small piece of land facing an opening that went deep inside the mountain. An old, mustachioed man stood guard at the cavern entrance.

 

“Who are you?” the elderly guard demanded. “Only people who have the permission of the Gym Leader can enter here.”

 

“My name is Renzo,” he defiantly answered, “and I’m on a quest to capture a Dratini. I know I can find them in the Dragon’s Den.”

 

“Sorry, I already told you, you need Clair’s permission to go in. Go find her at the Gym and see if she’ll listen to you.”

 

Renzo started to turn away, but abruptly stopped and spun back around. “I’m sorry. I can’t let anyone stand in the way of what I must do, so I’m going to have to convince you to…”

 

“What are you doing?”

 

A woman wearing a blue bodysuit and boots had arrived during their discussion by traveling across the lake on her Kingdra. When she jumped off onto land, her black cape and long blue ponytail blew in the wind behind her.

 

“Clair!” the old man quickly blurted out. “I was just telling this trainer he can’t enter…”

 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Moving her harsh eyes to Renzo, she continued, “Most trainers who come here know better than to march right up to this cave without my permission. I want to know what makes this one think he’s special.”

 

Renzo stiffened, aware of who he was facing. “Leader Clair, my name is Renzo. I traveled all the way here because I must capture a Dratini. I cannot continue my Gym challenges until I get one.”

 

“Why must you get a Dratini now? How many Badges do you even have?”

 

“Right now, zero.” Clair was visibly surprised by Renzo’s bold confession, but he continued speaking. “Dratini is… well, that’s not entirely true. Dragonite is a Pokémon that was very important to someone very close to me. She’s… she’s not around anymore, so I decided that in order to honor her, I must have a Dragonite of my own for my Pokémon League challenge.”

 

“You intrigue me,” Clair said, putting her hand on her chin. “You certainly have a spine to come here and admit that you expect to get into the Dragon’s Den with no Badges at all. What kind of Pokémon do you even have? Coming here could not have been easy.”

 

“Right now I have a Gurdurr, a Drowzee and a Cottonee. And you’re right, it wasn’t easy. I risked my life and got some help from…” Renzo hesitated, recalling the secretive nature of the Tenganists. “...from some other travelers. Without them I would have frozen to death in the mountains.”

 

“So you bit off more than you could chew and needed to be rescued. That doesn’t surprise me.” Clair turned her back on Renzo. “You were foolish to think you could reach this place so easily. And yet, you are obviously greatly dedicated to your goal. That person you described must truly have meant a lot to you, for you to do all this.”

 

“She was all I had.”

 

Clair looked over her shoulder, but did not turn around. “I’ve made a decision. You may not enter the Dragon’s Den right now. But your spirit is intriguing to me, so I will give you a one-time offer. I will put you into training so you may prove yourself to me and the other elders of the Dragon Clan. Let me warn you now, I will not go easy on you. Your training will be harsher than anything you’ve experienced, and there’s a good chance you’ll wish you had frozen to death on that mountain. Well? Do you have enough of a spine to face it? Are you that dedicated?”

 

“I’m not afraid,” Renzo answered. “I’ve been through a lot, and I am willing to do what I must to reach my goal.”

 

-:-

 

On the western coast of Johto, the densely-populated urban center of Olivine City sprawled out next to the ocean. Because of its prime location for overseas shipping, it was one of the first cities in Johto to begin developing, and although it was not quite as run-down as the slums of Goldenrod, it wasn’t as well-kept as Cherrygrove City.

 

In the southeast of the city near the docks, a number of bars and clubs clustered, ready to serve the interests of the sailors and travelers who visited. One building in this seedy district stuck out, due to the fact that unlike everything surrounding it, it had no neon lights or digital signs attached to it. It simply stood there, its street entrance sealed up by a metal shutter.

 

The building’s unassuming appearance hid a secret, however. It had a hidden underground entrance, and from there, the members of Team Rocket had gathered within. None who passed by would ever suspect it of being Team Rocket’s Olivine base.

 

A stately bar was set up on the main floor, and Trevor was standing behind it, wiping glasses so he could serve himself and Ariana drinks. The others - Jessie, James, Meowth, Pierce, Proton, Petrel and Rosalie - were gathered around the crate of stolen Pokémon as Ada analyzed its contents using her laptop and a portable scanner.

 

“Well?” Giovanni asked, sitting in his office chair with Persian alongside him. A banner bearing Team Rocket’s logo was hung up on the wall just behind them. “Ada, what do we have here?”

 

“O-one second, Giovanni, s-sir…” Ada continued her busy typing, which in turn was causing the scanner to shine a light over the crate. “Analysis complete.”

 

The light disappeared from the scanner, and it generated a holographic screen displaying each of the Pokémon in the container.

 

“That’s a lot of Pokémon,” Jessie smugly said.

 

“Indeed,” Giovanni replied, his hand moving to scratch Persian’s head. He briefly hesitated, then continued, “Your work on stealing these from Polaris was admirable. We need to strengthen the ranks of our Pokémon, and as a reward for your success, I want you two to be the first to choose from them.”

 

“Did you hear that?” James excitedly shouted. “The boss is proud of us!”

 

Meowth hugged James’s leg and said, “We did good, and praise from the boss feels great!” Shooting Persian a cunning glare, Meowth then whispered, “Maybe I’ll end up top cat one day after all.”

 

Persian growled in annoyance at Meowth antagonizing him, and in near perfect sync, Pierce shut his eyes and sighed.

 

“Let’s keep working hard for the boss’s sake,” Jessie told the others as she wiped a tear from her eye. She walked up to the holographic screen and used her hand to browse its display. “Come here, little Pokémon. I know you’re in there, the one for me…”

 

After a minute of searching, Jessie stopped on the image of a butterfly-like Pokémon. It had a gray body, black eyes dotted with white, and wide wings bearing a soft blue-and-white pattern.

 

“That’s a Vivillon,” Ada explained. “Specifically, it’s a Marine Pattern.”

 

“I like the style. I’ll take it.”

 

The hologram displayed the Repeat Ball that held the Vivillon, and Jessie dipped her hand into the crate to retrieve it. Meanwhile, James stepped up and moved back several pages in the display.

 

“What is this Pokémon?” he asked, having settled on a wide-eyed blue squid. “It reminds me of a toy I had when I was young.”

 

“Inkay is its name. It’s Dark-and-Psychic-type, and from analyzing this data, I would say it’s a good fighter.”

 

James nodded, then went into the crate to collect his new Pokémon. Proton was the next to approach the hologram, and he went through it with swift, deliberate movements.

 

“I choose this Pokémon,” Proton declared.

 

“Pangoro,” Ada said, identifying the hulking black-and-white panda Pokémon. “Dark-and-Fighting-type. This one is apparently good at crippling its opponents.”

 

Without another word, Proton pulled Pangoro’s Poké Ball from the crate. “You sound like you’re going to fit my tastes perfectly.”

 

“Giovanni, sir?” Ada suddenly piped up.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I-I found something in the data that you may like…” With the tapping of a few keys, Ada displayed the image of a rotund rabbit Pokémon sporting muscular arms for ears and thick, yellow-and-brown fur around its midsection. “It’s a Diggersby, a Normal-and-Ground-type. Not only is this Pokémon your favorite type, according to my analysis, it can be extremely powerful in battle.”

 

“Excellent thinking, Ada.” Giovanni gestured to Pierce, who retrieved Diggersby’s Ultra Ball for him. “Now, we will keep the rest of these Pokémon in stock for our army. We will need them to combat Polaris’s forces. Pierce, I want you to travel to headquarters and deliver them to Stacia after you drop off the Meteonite at Zager’s laboratory.”

 

“Sir!” Pierce answered, stiffening into his formal pose.

 

Rosalie wheeled herself up next to Pierce and tapped his arm to gain his attention. “This contains all the data from the Battle Factory as copied by Petrel,” she said, pushing the flash drive with Team Rocket’s logo on it into his hand. “Deliver that to Zager as well. I cannot crack the encryption with the resources I have here. It will take the power of Zager’s computers to properly decode what we’re dealing with.”

 

“Understood.”

 

“Now, you three,” Giovanni said, turning to Jessie, James and Meowth. “I am assigning you to go to Ecruteak City ahead of the rest of us and scope out the situation. I expect intelligence on what Ghetsis and Polaris are planning to do and how we can fight them.”

 

“It’ll get done before you even know it, Boss!” Meowth promised.

 

“Now get to your work, all of you.”

 

“Hail Giovanni!” all of the assembled Team Rocket members declared.

 

The group dissipated; Pierce collected his cargo and Jessie, James and Meowth left immediately. Once the meeting had broken up, Rosalie approached Ariana at the bar.

 

“Come on, Ari, come with me to your quarters. I need to give you that exam now.”

 

-:-

 

Having recovered enough to walk around, Jacob ventured to the mouth of the cave the Tenganists were using as their base. He had to shield his face from the cold wind that blew by as he stepped outside, and the ragged clothing he’d been provided gave little protection from the chill.

 

“This is all we have left.” Though he hadn’t noticed her right away, the Prophet was standing alone outside the cave. She’d had her hands clasped in silent prayer until he came out alongside her. “When Saeko Oryo swallowed the Jewel of Life, the backlash consumed all the life energy of this entire area,” she explained, gesturing out at the snowy landscape dotted by ruined stone structures. “This place has been a wasteland of death ever since.”

 

“I was here, I saw it…” Jacob uttered in shock, staring at the expanse before his eyes. “I watched this place die, and yet, looking at it now, it looks so much worse than what I saw back then…”

 

“I’m sure that you now understand the struggle we face. What has become of our holy land is very similar to what has happened to us as a people. We are being systemically hunted and eliminated by Ghetsis, for both his own motives and Polaris’s.”

 

“You are aware of his motives?”

 

Though she was dressed in her usual clothing, the Prophet didn’t shiver until Jacob asked the question. “I am… intimately aware of what Ghetsis intends to do. You told me you knew about his ancestors’ hatred for our people.”

 

“I did.”

 

“Then you have some idea of why he personally wants to do this.” A strong gust of wind parted the Prophet’s robes, revealing an old coat underneath. It had once been white but had become discolored with wear. “This isn’t just about getting rid of us as a people. This is about sending a message. That’s… why I’m still alive. It’s why I’m here but why I’m still alive.”

 

Jacob considered asking further about the Prophet’s claim of being spared by Ghetsis, but thought better of it. Instead, he questioned, “What about Polaris?”

 

The Prophet hesitated again, then moved closer to Jacob. “Listen. What I’m about to tell you is something I have not told many of my followers. I hope your regret over witnessing the death of our land is enough to motivate you into understanding why.”

 

Though he was taken aback, Jacob nodded. “I promise. It’s between you and me.”

 

“I think there is a traitor to our people within Polaris’s ranks. Ghetsis destroyed a number of our communities by tracking me, but some of them were so secretive that there’s no way he could have found them without help, not to mention that I didn’t even visit some. Someone had to have tipped him off to their existence. But what’s even more troubling to me… how much do you understand about our power? Transcendence?”

 

“Well…” Jacob scratched the back of his head and laughed softly. “That was always Sutter’s thing. He understood so much more about your people than I ever did. Sutter did tell me back then that Saeko Oryo’s power was exceptional, though.”

 

“That…” The Prophet held herself back from slapping Jacob much like she had slapped Pierce. “That is true. She was both celebrated and feared before her sin, and she may have been one of the most powerful Tenganists in terms of Transcendence in centuries. My power… I’ve developed a power nearly as strong as hers, and because of it, I cannot help but feel as if some terrible deed is about to come to pass. Those of us with extremely powerful Transcendence are in tune with such things. Do you know what the Coronet Rosary is?”

 

“I’ve heard the name but… Sutter always told me it was something not worth knowing about.”

 

“He was a wise man, then. Knowledge of it is too horrible for many to bear. My fear is that it’s going to become frighteningly relevant soon…”

 

“That’s very bad, isn’t it?” Jacob said, a numb feeling filling his chest.

 

“Yes. Yes, it is.” After pausing for a moment, the Prophet’s voice softened. “You’re worried about your old student Bunny. I can sense it.”

 

“I just wish there was something I could do to help her right now…” he muttered, turning away. “She wants nothing to do with me, and I’m here…”

 

“Do you have any Pokémon?”

 

Jacob turned back to the Prophet in surprise. “What? Why do you ask?”

 

“With my power, I can connect with a Pokémon’s heart and let it know anything I want. I can send one of your Pokémon to her.”

 

“We’re out of luck,” Jacob said with a shrug. “I released all my Pokémon when I went to prison. They’re out there in the wild now. I would send my Xatu if I still had it…”

 

“I can do that too. Come here.” The Prophet took up Jacob’s hands in her own. “I can call to your Xatu if I focus my power enough.”

“Is that really possible?”

 

“I’ll show you. Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

Jacob’s eyes went wide as his mind joined with the Prophet’s. He wobbled back, the sensation filling his body causing him to become unbalanced, but she held him up with a firm grasp.

 

“Xatu…” she whispered. “Hear my words. Jacob and Bunny need you. Come to us and give us the aid we need…”

 

-:-

 

North of Goldenrod, just outside the city limits, was the National Park. Unlike the massive metropolis nearby, it was a quiet, peaceful place. A cobblestone path lined with lanterns led from the entrance gate and through the trees to a wide, grassy field with a fountain at its center.

 

Matt and the others were walking through the park toward its northern end, heading for the Battle Cafe. Olivia and Monroe were at the front with Bunny, while Matt and Nekou brought up the rear.

 

“It’s so beautiful!” Nekou was raving to herself, looking in all directions at the colors of the autumn trees around her.

 

“I see you’re feeling better…” Matt mumbled, sticking his hands in the pockets of his coat to provide an extra layer of warmth.

 

Pausing to look at him, Nekou abruptly asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“Don’t you remember last night? Wait, don’t tell me you totally forgot already?”

 

“Relax, I’m just fucking with you. I’m flattered you give enough of a shit to ask about me.”

 

Nekou turned around and took out her phone to take pictures of the trees. Matt, meanwhile, found himself at a loss for words. He stood still for a moment before rushing to catch up with the others.

 

Just as he managed to reach them, however, all five of them were nearly knocked over by a Pokémon running past them. They barely had time to realize that it was a Mareep before the Electric-type’s trainer appeared and crashed into Matt. The Mareep turned and snickered at her trainer’s hopeless pursuit.

 

“Ow…” the boy said, rubbing his face with one hand and picking up his baseball cap with the other. “Are you alright, mister?”

 

“I’d be more concerned about you than myself.”

 

“I’m fine.” Looking around Matt to his Mareep, who was still laughing at him, he called out, “Come on, Mareep! Please behave, I’m begging you!”

 

Mareep ignored his plea and fired off a bolt of electricity from her wool at him. Before it could hit, Matt shoved the trainer out of the way and ended up getting shocked himself. He fell to his hands and knees and convulsed as the electricity worked its way through him.

 

“Matt!” Bunny cried out, running to his side with Olivia and Monroe.

 

“Are you fucking crazy?” Nekou demanded. “You know you can’t get shocked like that!”

 

“It’s… nothing permanent,” he answered in a shaky voice. “I didn’t want him to get hurt…”

 

Looking to the trainer, Olivia asked, “What’s up with your Mareep anyway?”

 

“It sure is nastier than most Mareep I’ve seen…” added Monroe.

 

“I’m so sorry!” the boy said, bowing his head repeatedly. He ran to Mareep, who started growling at him, and scolded her, “You can’t keep doing things like this, Mareep. I’m begging you, please behave.”

 

Shaking her head, Mareep bleated a vicious cry at her trainer. When this happened, he could do nothing but sigh and take a Poké Ball out of his pocket.

 

“Mareep, I can’t take care of you anymore. I’m just not the trainer for you, I guess… I can’t give you what you need.” The boy held down the button on the Poké Ball, eventually causing both it and Mareep to flash with blue light. “You can fight as much as you want out there in the wild… it’s where you belong. I’m sorry I took you out of that.”

 

After a brief hesitation, Mareep turned and darted off into the tall grass around the park. The boy looked to Matt’s group and saw their confused gazes, but instead of answering, he merely hung his head in shame and walked off in the opposite direction.

 

“So he finally released it, huh?”

 

Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe all jumped, startled by the young woman who had suddenly appeared next to them. The brown pigtails peeking out from under her puffy, white hat shook when she turned her head to them.

 

“He’s been around this park a lot recently,” she explained. “That Mareep has a really violent nature. It loves to fight so much that he couldn’t control it. I guess it finally got too much for him, huh?”

 

“That answers our questions about that, I think, but who are you?”

 

When Bunny’s question registered in her head, the young woman laughed nervously and fiddled with the strap of her blue overalls. “Sorry, I should have introduced myself! Forgive me for being so rude. My name’s Lyra.”

 

“I’m Matt, and this is Nekou, Olivia, Bunny and Monroe.” He extended a hand and added, “It’s a pleasure.”

 

Lyra quickly shook Matt’s hand. When she did so, she accidentally pulled his glove down slightly, allowing herself a glimpse of his prosthetic arm. As soon as she saw it, she gasped.

 

“Your name is Matt, and you have a metal arm… you’re that challenger from the Battle Factory, aren’t you?”

 

“How do you know about that?” Matt questioned, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Thorton the Factory Head is a friend of mine! You’re going to the Battle Cafe now, aren’t you? Come on, I’ll take you there myself!”

 

“Hey, hold on!”

 

Despite his protests, Lyra grabbed Matt by the arm and dragged him off. Bunny, Olivia, Nekou and Monroe all shared a laugh as they followed.

 

Within minutes, the group had trekked all the way to the northernmost part of the park. The Battle Cafe, a wide, single-floor brick building decorated with colorful banners, spread out before them.

 

“Well, this is it!” Lyra declared, putting her hands on her hips. “The Battle Cafe! Just march right on in there and sign up. I promise you’ll have a blast!”

 

“Are you challenging it too?” Olivia piped up, pushing her way past Monroe and Nekou to address Lyra.

 

“Nah. It’s not something I need to do, you know? But come on in, I’ll show you the ropes.”

 

Lyra strode confidently to the front door of the Battle Cafe and pushed it open. She held it until the others had all entered.

 

A registry desk was set up near the door, while the rest of the spacious room was dotted with dining tables, many of which were occupied by other patrons. At the center, a stage was set up, and at that moment two trainers were battling. On one side of the battlefield, a young man in a red fedora and trenchcoat was commanding a Rapidash against a Raichu.

 

“Horn Drill, Rapidash!”

 

The trainer’s opponent, another man wearing a sun visor and jogging shorts, countered with, “Raichu, dodge and use Wild Charge!”

 

The Raichu ducked underneath Rapidash’s charge, then enveloped her body in electricity and rushed at the Fire-type.

 

While the two Pokémon clashed up on the stage, Lyra led the group to the front desk, where a tuxedo-wearing waiter with a broad moustache was waiting.

 

“Welcome back, miss Lyra,” he said, bowing gently to them. “Are these your guests?”

 

“My guests?!” Lyra shrilled, visibly cringing but quickly composing herself. “They’re the Battle Cafe’s guests, of course!”

 

“Well yes, of course. Which one of you is the challenger?”

 

Matt stepped forward and gripped the strap of his bag. “I am.”

 

“Then let me be the first to say, welcome to the Battle Cafe. In order to join a battle here, you must enter three Pokémon.”

 

In response to the waiter’s request, Matt felt around in his bag and said, “I’ll enter my Hitmonchan, Sigilyph and Eelektrik.”

 

“Very well…” The waiter typed the data into a computer on his desk. “Your Frontier Pass, please?”

 

Matt already had the pass in his hand, and as soon as the waiter requested it, he gave it over. After scanning it, he returned it to Matt.

 

“Your entry is confirmed, Mr. Chiaki. Now please, follow me this way…”

 

“Wait!”

 

Olivia grabbed Matt’s arm, causing him to freeze where he stood. The waiter also stopped, seeing that his guest was no longer following.

 

“Olivia, what is it?”

 

“I…” After taking a deep breath, Olivia trained a fiery gaze into Matt’s eye. “I want to battle with you here!”

 

This news caught the entire group by surprise, but for differing reasons. Matt, Monroe and Bunny all gasped, but only Monroe managed to put words to how they felt.

 

“O-Olivia, are you really sure that you can do this? You’ve never done a Frontier facility… and Matt has done two…”

 

“Do you doubt I can handle myself? Geez, for having a crush on me, you sure don’t have a lot of faith in me.” While Monroe turned bright red in embarrassment, Olivia turned to Nekou, who was smiling smugly. “What do you think?”

 

“I can’t say I expected you to be so gutsy.”

 

“I have to get stronger if I’m going to stand up to Polaris,” Olivia explained. “I know I’m likely to lose, but I won’t get stronger if I don’t push myself. I have to do it.”

 

“Then go out there and kick as much ass as you can.”

 

With Nekou’s endorsement, Olivia approached the entry desk. The waiter returned and set about preparing her entry.

 

“And which three Pokémon will you be entering, young lady?” he asked.

 

“Herdier, Mr. Mime and Roselia.”

 

“Very well.” After typing a bit more, the waiter printed out a Frontier Pass and handed it to Olivia. “You are now entered as well. I wish you two the best of luck. Now…”

 

The gate blocking the group from entering the main dining area slid back when the waiter pushed a button on his computer. “Please feel free to mill about the dining room until we contact you for your first battle.”

 

“Th-thank you,” Matt uttered, still in shock over what was happening.

 

“Come on, this way!”

 

For the second time in less than a half hour, Lyra seized Matt’s arm. This time, however, she also grabbed Olivia, and dragged them both into the dining area with the others following. After releasing her grip on them, she turned around.

 

“I hope you have a lot of fun battling here! I have to go do something, so do good and I’ll see you later, alright?”

 

While Lyra walked off toward a door on the far side of the room, Bunny lowered her eyes.

 

“I bet I know who the Frontier Brain here is,” she said sarcastically.

 

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Matt agreed. Before he could say anything further, a strange sound distracted him. “What is that? Is that… harp music?”

 

The group turned in the direction of the music and discovered that Matt’s suspicion was correct. Nando was sitting at a nearby table, calmy running his fingers over the strings of his harp while waiting for them to come over.

 

“Hey, it’s Nando!” Olivia exclaimed, running over to the table. “What’s up with you?”

 

“It is good to see you again, Miss Olivia. It’s been quite a while, hasn’t it?” Strumming his harp more, he sang, “I am here for the promise of battle.”

 

“Well I see he’s the same as always,” Nekou remarked as the rest of the group joined Olivia.

 

“How is everything going with you?” Matt asked.

 

“Please, sit and I will tell you.” Nando waited for the entire group to seat themselves at his table, then said, “As you already know, I have collected eight Badges already, so I am focusing on the Frontier Society’s facilities for now. I am also competing in the Pokémon Contests of this country.”

 

“How many Ribbons do you have?”

 

“Presently, Bunny, I have three. I will need two more. For now, I have decided to participate in the Battle Cafe on my way to the Battle Hall. Matt, Olivia, how have your challenges gone of late?”

 

“I still only have the one Medal, from the Battle Arcade,” Matt admitted, turning his head downward. “The Battle Factory was too much for me.”

 

“Do not be ashamed of failing to meet its challenge. It is considered one of the most difficult of all seven facilities. And you, Olivia? How many Badges have you collected?”

 

“Two, right now.”

 

“Ah, well done!” Nando said with a smile. “You are making fine progress. Shall I assume Ecruteak Gym is your next one?”

 

“Yes, right,” Olivia replied with a nod.

 

“Ecruteak Gym is considered a significant challenge due to the Gym Leader’s use of Ghost-types. You will need to be prepared to counter both their strength and their unique immunities.” Taking full notice of Monroe for the first time, Nando said, “Hm? I do not believe we have met before. Are you a friend of Olivia’s?”

 

“Y-yes, I am…”

 

“Don’t be embarrassed!” Nekou laughed, clapping one hand down on Monroe’s shoulder and the other on Olivia’s. “His name’s Monroe, he’s Olivia’s little secret admirer.”

 

“Ah,” Nando said, strumming his harp and failing to notice Monroe and Olivia blushing, “it is good to have those you are emotionally close to accompanying you on your travels.”

 

 _“And now, moving on to business, a major announcement that will shake up the media world forever.”_ The group’s conversation was interrupted by the nearby television news broadcast, so they turned to watch. _“The Angel Corporation has announced that it has purchased Kalos-based clothing and media conglomerate Lysandre Labs for a currently unknown sum. Angel Corporation president Gabriella Bouchard announced the acquisition at her headquarters in Viridian City earlier today.”_

 

The image of the news desk was replaced on the screen by one of Gabriella standing at a podium on the front steps of the Angel Corporation’s building before a large gathering of press. Her usually long blonde hair was bobbed short, leaving only her bangs to blow in the wind.

 

 _“The acquisition of the media holdings of Lysandre Labs now gives the Angel Corporation ownership of a majority of the world’s media channels,”_ she proclaimed, gripping the sides of the podium bearing her company’s logo. _“We now have access to markets worldwide, with the exception of the Orre Region. That is an acceptable price to pay, because we now can work to do good in most of the world! Wouldn’t you agree that’s pretty great? This was Mr. Flordelis’s goal, too, but with just Kalos he couldn’t manage to pull it off. Together, we can do anything! And we will use our power to do good! Now, I am aware that these are hard times in many parts of the world, but I give you my word, I will use every resource I have to help! The Angel Corporation’s expansions will provide much-needed jobs and economic stimulation to areas that desperately need such things, I swear on the footsteps of those who have come before us! Please, won’t you all stick by our side as we develop wonderful new things? I’d love to keep seeing every last one of you!”_

 

“Well I guess that’s good,” Bunny remarked once the speech was over. “Bit of a ramble, though…”

 

“She’s always like that,” Matt said. “She’s loopy as hell but she has a good heart.”

 

“I’d say that again.”

 

The new voice that approached the table was punctuated by the sound of a wooden cane tapping against the floor. All the seated group members turned their heads and found Dante standing at the table, holding his briefcase in the hand he wasn’t using for his cane. He smiled at them, but Bunny jumped up and got in his face anyway.

 

“Who do you think you are, coming and being all nice to us after you left me behind in the Ruins of Alph?” she snapped.

 

Dante didn’t lose his pleasant demeanor even as he tried to wave Bunny off. “Please, do forgive me for what happened back then. I had no idea the Unown were so riled up.”

 

“Well it’s about time you started paying attention to the world around you, old man,” Nekou rudely said. “The Unown were upset because Polaris was fucking with a Meteonite in those ruins.”

 

“Bloody hell, are you serious?” Dante pulled a nearby chair over so he could sit down at the table himself. “Tell me everything that happened. Bunny, where did they send you?”

 

“A temple somewhere very cold,” she answered. “I don’t know exactly where it was, but a local resident sent me back right away, and I just went straight to Goldenrod City after that.”

 

“You really didn’t hear what happened in Goldenrod?” Matt asked Dante.

 

“No. I’ve been out of the loop of late. Gabriella’s had me studying the effects of the migration of foreign Pokémon to Kanto and Johto. There have been some unforeseen effects for the worse that she asked me to look at.” Seeing the questioning gazes he was receiving, he continued, “Some Pokémon have adapted well to their new settings. Others have begun acting out or destroying their environments. For example, Routes 38 and 39 have become battlegrounds between wild Tauros and Bouffalant as they fight for grazing land and the limited number of Miltank for breeding. The Lake of Rage, meanwhile, has been invaded by wild Basculin, who are multiplying rapidly and eating the native Magikarp population out of their homes.”

 

“That’s pretty scary…” Monroe said, staring down at the tablecloth.

 

“It is, that’s why we’re looking into it. I understand you were given a Pokédex by Professor Juniper to document the migrated Pokémon, Olivia?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“I haven’t spoken to her yet myself, but I want to ask you to continue doing that. If a crisis develops because of these new Pokémon, we will need all the data we can get on them. I’m sure Gabriella would appreciate it as well…” Suddenly, Dante realized something with a start. “Oh! I forgot all about what we were talking about. Polaris at the Ruins of Alph and what they did with the Meteonite, right?”

 

“Polaris brought the Meteonite to Goldenrod City with the intention of shipping it somewhere else by train,” Matt explained. “We interfered though, and ended up getting caught in a fight between Polaris members and Team Rocket. They ended up taking the Meteonite away somewhere with a helicopter.”

 

Dante’s smile disappeared as his face darkened. “You bloody fool, I warned you to stay out of Polaris’s affairs. You don’t know what kind of danger you’re putting yourselves in. They are much stronger than any of us and far more well organized. You are lucky you walked away from a confrontation with them… the might of their military forces are completely unknown even to the International Police. And Team Rocket, too?” Dante shot a scowl around the table before adding, “They may be weaker than they once were, but they are not people you want to trifle with. I don’t want any of you to ignore this advice and get hurt.”

 

“I have to try to stop Polaris!” Olivia blurted out. “The way they’re playing everyone against each other… that’s wrong no matter how I look at it. They’re ruining everything my dad tried to do with the Frontier Society!”

 

“Your loyalty to your father is admirable…” Dante said, leaning back and gripping his cane. “But ask yourself, would your father want you to endanger yourself for ideals he may not have even believed in himself?”

 

“Shut up! I know he would agree with me!”

 

“Dante, you might want to stop…”

 

Nekou interrupted Matt to growl, “Stop fucking upsetting her, old man. You fuck with her, you fuck with me.”

 

Dante was stunned by Nekou speaking to him in such a way, and was momentarily speechless. “I… well, I cannot say I approve of such language. What would your mother say if you spoke to her with that mouth?”

 

“Fuck you. Maman taught me how much fun talking like this is.”

 

“Well… if that’s the case, so be it.” Turning to Matt, Dante asked, “You are here to battle, I assume?”

 

“Right. Olivia decided to enter too, so we’re hoping to get matched up against each other. Are you battling?”

 

“No. I just came here to dine, but I’ve been working out of Ecruteak City’s Pokémon Center.”

 

At that point, a pair of young women dressed in maid uniforms approached the table, interrupting the conversation.

 

“Nando, we are ready to begin your battles in the next room,” the shorter of the two said. “Please come with me.”

 

Running his fingers over the strings of his harp, Nando stood and gently said to the others, “I see I must go now. I wish you the best of luck, Olivia, Matt. Let’s meet again soon.”

 

“I hope we get to battle!” Matt called after him as he walked off with the waitress.

 

The second of the maids then stepped forward and handed Matt a tablet computer. “Here, Matt. This will be the menu from which you’ll choose your first battle.”

 

“Menu?” he questioned, raising his eyebrow.

 

“Yes. Look right here on the screen.” The waitress pointed to a box on the top of the tablet, which contained the number ‘1000.’ “That is the supply of Cafe Points you will use to purchase battles here. We will show you three potential opponents, each with a different clue to what Pokémon that trainer will use. The more revealing hints will cost you more Cafe Points, so manage them wisely. If you manage to purchase and win three battles while still having Cafe Points left over, you will get to battle our Frontier Brain, the Cafe Diva. Now that you have the rules, are you ready to get started?”

 

“I suppose so.”

 

“Then please have a look at your options for the first course.”

 

Matt looked down at the tablet, on which three lines of information had materialized. The top option would have him face a trainer with an unnamed Steel-type Pokémon at the cost of one hundred Cafe Points, while the middle listed a trainer whose team held a majority weakness to Water-types. He immediately passed that option over when he saw it would cost him three hundred Cafe Points, and when he saw the last choice, he knew immediately which one he’d take.

 

For two hundred Cafe Points, he could battle a trainer with a Herdier.

 

“Well, Olivia, I think we’re going to get that battle after all,” he said with a smile as he handed the tablet back to the waitress. “I’ll spend two hundred points for the Herdier battle.”

 

“A good choice,” the maid told him as she bowed politely. “Your prediction is right on. Olivia, please come with us to the stage.”

 

Olivia jumped out of her seat like a rocket. “All right! Come on, Matt, let’s go!”

 

“Shouldn’t you…” Matt shrank back, his ire over Olivia rushing right up on the stage softening when he saw how excited she was. “Well, I can’t argue with that.”

 

While Matt accompanied the waitress onto the battlefield, Monroe called out, “Go for it, Olivia!”

 

“Man, you really are crushing on her hard, huh?” Nekou joked, much to Monroe’s embarrassment.

 

Bunny chuckled softly to herself, and Dante asked, “So that’s who you are? Olivia’s boyfriend?”

 

“No!” Monroe stammered. “I’m… I’m not…”

 

“They’re just friends now,” Nekou interrupted, slouching in her chair and maintaining her sarcastic tone. “For now.”

 

Up on the stage, Matt and Olivia stood at opposite sides, while the waitress stood in the middle as a referee. She struck a bell to get the attention of the other diners in the room.

 

“The Battle Cafe match between Matt and Olivia will now begin!” she announced. “This is the first of the three battles on Matt’s challenge. This will be a three-on-three Single Battle with substitutions allowed. The winner will be the one who defeats all three of their opponent’s Pokémon.”

 

“Matt, I don’t want you to go easy on me!” Olivia declared. “I know I’ll probably lose, but that’s not the point. I have to push myself so I can be the trainer my dad would have wanted me to be!”

 

Between Olivia’s bold confidence and the feeling of all the spectators’ eyes on him, Matt could sense a growing nervousness within himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, grasping onto one of the Poké Balls in his bag to try and calm down.

 

“I won’t, if that’s what you want. Do your best.” Matt took the Poké Ball out and threw it, calling, “Rocky, make your mark!”

 

A flash of light burst from the ball and took the shape of Matt’s Hitmonchan. He stretched out his arms and hit his boxing gloves together in preparation for battle.

 

“Hitmonchan first? In that case, let’s do this! Roselia, let’s play!”

 

Despite her diminutive size, when Olivia’s Roselia looked up at Rocky, she showed no fear. A fire burned in her eyes that showed just how ready she was for the challenge she faced.

 

“The first match is Hitmonchan versus Roselia!” the maid announced, raising her arms. “Battle begin!”

 

“Rocky, use Thunder Punch!”

 

As soon as she saw the Hitmonchan rushing toward Roselia with his right glove sparking, Olivia grimaced and mumbled, “Roselia, Toxic Spikes.”

 

With a swing of her arms, Roselia lay glowing purple thorns all over the floor of the battlefield. Rocky was forced to stop short in order to avoid running right into one.

 

“Now, Energy Ball!” Olivia ordered while pointing straight up.

 

Rocky raised his gloves in front of his face to defend from the glowing green sphere Roselia sent down at him. Even though it exploded when it made contact, his defensive maneuver was enough to leave him mostly unfazed.

 

As soon as the smoke cleared, Olivia thrust an accusing finger at Matt. “I told you not to go easy on me! Thunder Punch? Don’t mock me! I’m serious!”

 

Matt could feel the accusing eyes of the crowd, especially Bunny and his other friends, burning holes through him. “I… I can’t…” he struggled, limply reaching out to Olivia for a reason he didn’t even know himself.

 

“You aren’t looking at me as an equal,” Olivia bitterly said, “so you won’t fight me like one. You don’t think I have it in me to stand up to Polaris, do you…”

 

“No, that’s not…” Despite his hasty response, Matt realized that Olivia’s judgment was correct and stopped himself. “I’m afraid of you getting in over your head. I still can’t let you get hurt.”

 

“I’m not afraid of them! And so what if I get hurt? What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger! Come on!”

 

Matt silently raised his Poké Ball and recalled Rocky. While he did so, Olivia glanced over to the table where the others were sitting and saw Nekou give her an approving smile.

 

“I… I’m still worried about you, you know? But if you really want to go for this, I don’t think I can stop you.” He threw another of the Poké Balls and shouted, “Charlotte, make your mark!”

 

Matt’s Eelektrik, Charlotte, formed floating over the battlefield, safely out of the way of the Toxic Spikes. A slight hissing sound escaped her mouth as she writhed about in the air.

 

“So are you going to take me seriously now?” Olivia asked. “Should we get started for real this time?”

 

“I’ll give you the shot you want.”

 

“Great! Now, let’s play again! Roselia, Sludge Bomb!”

 

“Charlotte, use Acid Spray!” Matt countered, pointing forward.

 

By swinging her arms, Roselia sent two balls of thick, purple slime at Charlotte. The Eelektrik quickly countered by choking up a bubble of her own green sludge. The two attacks met just into Olivia’s side of the stage and broke each other apart into a murky gas.

 

“Go through the smoke and hit with Headbutt!”

 

On Matt’s order, Charlotte twisted through the cloud and darted toward Roselia. As soon as she emerged from the haze, however, Olivia was ready.

 

“Poison Sting!”

 

Roselia set a storm of glowing purple needles on Charlotte, forcing her to maneuver around them in midair. She couldn’t avoid them all, however, and by the time she managed to smash her head into Roselia’s body, she had suffered enough blows to be afflicted with poison from them. She reeled back, her body growing weak from the toxins. As the Pokémon separated, the crowd murmured in excitement.

 

“Poisoned, I see…” Matt quietly observed. “I’ll have to fight quickly if I want to win, but first, I need to equalize things. Charlotte, Thunder Wave!”

 

A weak pulse of blue electricity flowed from Charlotte’s skin and into Roselia. Instantly upon contact, Roselia’s muscles became numb as paralysis took hold.

 

Olivia clenched her teeth. “Roselia, you can fight through that, right?”

 

“Ro…” Turning her head back to her trainer, Roselia responded with a strained but determined smile.

 

“Alright, let’s keep going then!”

 

“If that’s what you want, Olivia…” Matt made a fist and said, “Charlotte, Acid Spray!”

 

“Roselia, take it head on!”

 

Much to the surprise of Matt as well as the entire crowd, Roselia simply braced herself and allowed Charlotte’s Acid Spray to wash over her. She emerged shaking but still standing.

 

“Now jump and use Energy Ball!”

 

With great strength in her tiny legs, Roselia sprang into the air and pointed her arms down at Charlotte. A glowing, sparking green sphere formed from her rose hands and descended upon her Electric-type foe, striking with enough force to slam Charlotte into the ground.

 

However, as she fell, Charlotte came down hard onto one of the Toxic Spikes. The wound it inflicted on her combined with the poison she’d already suffered caused her to cry out in pain.

 

“Charlotte!” Matt shouted in dismay. Seeing his Pokémon struggling to pull herself off the thorn prompted him to reach for her Poké Ball with the intent to surrender and not force her to battle further. When he looked at Olivia again, though, he hesitated. _“If I throw in the towel now, I’m robbing her of her rightfully earned win… but if I don’t…”_

 

Much to his relief, however, Olivia picked up on what he was about to do. She quickly issued the order, “Finish this up with Sludge Bomb!”

 

Standing over Charlotte’s prone form, Roselia pointed her right arm forward. Charlotte glanced up only seconds before Roselia shot a blast of sludge into her face at point-blank range, throwing her across the stage and knocking her out cold.

 

“Eelektrik is unable to battle!” the maid announced over the cheering and applause of the audience. “The winner is Roselia!”

 

“So what do you think now, huh?” Olivia proudly said, putting her hands on her hips. “I took one down!”

 

At the table, Nekou grinned broadly and said, “I knew she had it in her.”

 

“You’re right,” Dante murmured, narrowing his eyes. “She’s quite good…”

 

“You’re doing great, Olivia!” Monroe called out. “Keep it up!”

 

After recalling her, Matt took a moment to look at Charlotte’s Poké Ball. “I’m sorry I let you get beaten like that, Charlotte… rest up, you earned it.” He put the ball away and took out another, then raised his head to meet Olivia’s determined gaze. “Olivia, I… you’re right. I underestimated you, and that was wrong. I’ll give you a stronger challenge now, if you’re up for it.”

 

“Of course I am! Bring it on!”

 

“I like your determination,” Matt said with a weak smile. “Alright, Rocky, make your mark once again!”

 

“The next round is Hitmonchan versus Roselia!” declared the maid as Rocky reappeared and the initial matchup duplicated itself. “Begin!”

 

“Rocky, watch your feet, those Toxic Spikes are still dangerous! See how close you can get and go for Ice Punch!”

 

With swift footwork, Rocky danced around and between the dimly glowing hazards. His right glove started to turn light blue as frigid air flowed from it.

 

“Roselia, watch out! You have to meet that with Energy Ball!”

 

At that moment, Olivia’s luck ran out. Despite her best efforts, Roselia couldn’t move due to the paralysis Thunder Wave had afflicted her with. She was wide open when Rocky got within arm’s length of her, and he wasted no time in delivering the freezing punch he had readied. Roselia immediately collapsed upon being hit.

 

“Roselia is unable to battle! The winner is Hitmonchan!”

 

“It’s even now,” Monroe observed.

 

“Olivia, you can beat him! Keep going!”

 

In response to Nekou’s cheering, Bunny sarcastically said, “You do realize we’re friends with both of them, right?”

 

“Of course I do. I’m just fucking with him, come on.”

 

“Roselia, you did well. I’m very happy with you.” Without hesitation, Olivia put Roselia’s Poké Ball back in her pocket and took out another, which she threw. “Herdier, let’s play!”

 

“This next battle is Hitmonchan versus Herdier! Begin!”

 

“Rocky, go in for a Drain Punch!” Matt called, raising his arm.

 

“Hit back with Retaliate!”

 

While Rocky weaved between the Toxic Spikes, Herdier locked his eyes on the approaching Fighting-type. A steam-like aura surrounded him, and he shot forward to meet the oncoming punch. Rocky and Herdier were thrown violently back from each other due to the force of the collision.

 

“If you don’t want me to go easy on you, Olivia, I won’t!” Matt’s eye narrowed to focus on the battle in front of him. His mind was becoming clearer, freer from the pressure he had felt, the more he fought. “Drain Punch again!”

 

“That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear,” Olivia said, grinning. “Herdier, hide behind one of the Toxic Spikes so you can use Work Up!”

 

Herdier sprinted to the nearest of the poisonous thorns and crouched behind it, attempting to cover as much of his body as he could. Having already started to swing his glowing green glove, Rocky had to strain to pull back before he punched the hazard and suffered its toxins.

 

Seeing his opponent stopped caused Herdier to grin in much the same way Olivia had, and a red light enveloped his body as he tensed his muscles.

 

“Go around it and hit from the other side,” Matt advised his Pokémon. “Just be careful not to hit the spike. Drain Punch!”

 

As soon as Rocky started to move around the thorn, Olivia seized her opportunity. “Use Strength now, Herdier!”

 

The red aura around Herdier intensified, and he darted out from behind the Toxic Spike to headbutt Rocky in the chest. He used his gloves to block some of the impact, but Herdier hit him with such force that he was forced several feet back, barely missing another of the poisonous thorns.

 

“There, what do you think of that?” Olivia shouted across the battlefield.

 

“I think you just let your guard down. Drain Punch!”

 

As soon as Herdier relented, Rocky descended upon him, smashing him across the field with a perfectly aimed attack. Green light flowed out of Herdier as he slumped to the floor, briefly cloaking Rocky before being absorbed into his body. Once the light faded, the Hitmonchan stood up straighter using his newly recovered strength.

 

“Herdier is unable to battle!” announced the maid. “The winner is Hitmonchan!”

 

“That was rough…” Monroe quietly remarked. “A Normal-type losing to a Fighting-type is natural, but she might be overmatched…”

 

“She did say that she didn’t expect to win. As a trainer you can hope for the best all you want, but sometimes miracles don’t happen.”

 

“I don’t believe in miracles either,” Nekou sniped at Dante’s statement, “but try not to be such a fucking killjoy, geez. Give her credit for trying.”

 

Though he glared at Nekou, Dante did not respond further.

 

Up on the stage, Olivia had recalled Herdier, and now was staring at the Poké Ball containing her final Pokémon. Her hand was tightly clenched around it, and her fingers were shaking.

 

“I won’t give up…” she quietly said in a raspy voice. “I have to do this or I’ll never stand a chance against Polaris…”

 

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Olivia…” Matt advised. His moment of intense concentration had lapsed, and he felt his eye starting to curl in worry. “There’s no shame in throwing in the towel…”

 

“No!” Olivia snapped, lowering her head. “I can’t! I came this far… If I gave up now, what kind of trainer would I be?” When Olivia pulled her head back up, Matt could see tears forming in her eyes. “I’d be just what Polaris says people like me are, lazy and coasting on how good I have it!”

 

Dante leaned forward on his cane, staring intently at the scene unfolding before him. Bunny, meanwhile, turned to Nekou and gulped.

 

“Nekou, I think someone should stop this. She wasn’t ready for something like this.”

 

“It’s not like I don’t see where you’re coming from,” Nekou replied, her voice surprisingly soft, “but if we cut her off now it’s like we’re telling her we have no faith in her. I think deep down she knows that this is going to be a hard lesson to learn, but that she has to learn it.”

 

“Olivia, just send out your last Pokémon…” Matt blankly said. “We should finish this…”

 

“Fine. Let’s play, Mr. Mime!”

 

Olivia’s most recently acquired Pokémon, her Mr. Mime, took shape from the Poké Ball she threw. He immediately started to pantomime a wall in front of himself, seemingly unaware of Rocky’s presence.

 

“The next round is Hitmonchan versus Mr. Mime! Begin!”

 

“Mr. Mime, start off with Magical Leaf!”

 

“I better take defensive measures now. Use Role Play!”

 

By waving his arms, Mr. Mime sent a rush of glowing leaves at Rocky. The Fighting-type protected his face, leaving his gloves to get cut in several places. Once the attack abated, Rocky dropped his defensive stance and glared at Mr. Mime, his eyes flashing several times as he did so.

 

“Alright, Rocky, use Ice Punch now!”

 

“Protect!”

 

Rocky stepped through the field of poisonous hazards once more, but just before he swung his icy fist at Mr. Mime, his target created a shield of green light. The Ice Punch bounced harmlessly back, and Rocky was left dazed by the unexpected backlash.

 

“Alright, Mr. Mime, use Confusion!” Olivia called out, making a sweeping motion with her arm.

 

Soft red light filled Mr. Mime’s eyes as he thrust his arms toward Rocky, and the same light quickly enveloped Rocky’s body. He strained under it for several seconds before it faded, but when the light disappeared, he barely seemed fazed at all.

 

“What?” Olivia gasped. “Wait… before, when you…”

 

“That’s right,” Matt answered with a short nod. “I used Role Play to copy your Mr. Mime’s Ability, which is Filter. That means super-effective moves don’t do as much damage.”

 

“Matt really outmaneuvered her,” Monroe commented.

 

Olivia blinked rapidly, attempting to process the turn of events. “But, if Confusion won’t do enough, then I should… I should…”

 

“Rocky, Thunder Punch!”

 

Matt’s command was what it took to snap Olivia out of her daze. “I know! Mimic!”

 

Just before Rocky’s electrified fist collided with his body, Mr. Mime’s eyes flashed. He was thrown back several feet by the Thunder Punch, but he quickly managed to stand again and shook himself off.

 

“You use Thunder Punch yourself now, Mr. Mime!”

 

“Good thinking, Olivia,” Matt complimented. “Give it another Thunder Punch yourself!”

 

Having acquired the move via Mimic, Mr. Mime ran at Rocky while the Hitmonchan did the same. They both had their right fists glowing with electricity.

 

When they met, their swings collided with each other, causing electrical bolts to break across the battlefield. Rocky quickly managed to overpower his opponent, however, and broke through to land a powerful blow right on Mr. Mime’s face. Olivia gasped as her Pokémon fell back with Rocky still standing over him.

 

Matt shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Rocky, finish this up. Ice Punch.”

 

He couldn’t look at what happened next, but he had a fairly good idea of it. The sound of Rocky’s attack striking its target met his ears first, followed shortly by the crowd cheering. Knowing what it meant, he clenched his fists and prepared to face whatever outcome he was about to find.

 

“Mr. Mime is unable to battle! The winner is Hitmonchan, and the victor in this battle is Matt!”

 

With the cheering filling his head, Matt took a step forward and reopened his eyes. Olivia had fallen to her knees behind her fainted Mr. Mime, and he couldn’t see her eyes. Fearing how she would react to her loss, he quickly recalled Rocky and walked across the field to her.

 

“Olivia, I’m sorry…”

 

When she looked up, however, what Matt saw stunned him. Instead of anguish, her eyes were filled with a fiery determination.

 

“Now I know what I have to shoot for,” she said, smiling. “I’m not upset. I had to know exactly the kind of trainer I have to become to fight Polaris, and now I know. Thanks.”

 

“I’m proud of you, Olivia.”

 

Matt extended a hand to her and helped her up. Olivia then recalled Mr. Mime and walked alongside him back down to the table, where another maid was waiting with Nekou, Dante and the others.

 

“Olivia, that was a good fight,” Monroe said to her without hesitation. His embarrassment quickly caught up with him, however, and he stuttered to add, “I...I… I expected you to do good, th-though…”

 

“I guess it must have been good if your secret admirer liked it!” Nekou laughed, clapping a hand on Monroe’s shoulder. “In all seriousness, though, you took out one Pokémon. That’s a pretty fucking good start.”

 

“Olivia…” Once everyone around the table had turned to face him, Dante calmly said, “For a trainer who has only begun fairly recently, you put on a fine show at a professional battle facility. Polaris will be challenged to stand up to you.”

 

“Thanks!”

 

The maid walked up to Matt once the conversation had died down and bowed to him. “A fine battle, sir. We will award you two hundred Cafe Points for having two Pokémon left at the end of battle. Please stand by until we have your next battle prepared.” She then turned to Olivia and said, “We are prepared to begin your challenge.”

 

“I thought I lost?”

 

“You see, only the battles in which you select your opponent with Cafe Points count toward winning streaks,” the waitress explained. “Trainers here cycle through being opponents selected by others and selecting their own battles, and only the latter are what you build your winning streak on. Now, please, this way.”

 

Olivia reached for the maid’s hand, but before reaching it, she reconsidered and pulled back. “Actually, I think it’s better if I drop out here,” she decided, shaking her head. “You guys were right, I wasn’t totally ready for this, even if I learned something.”

 

“You don’t have to…”

 

Matt was cut off when Nekou thrust her arm in front of him. “So tell us, Olivia, what do you want to do now?”

 

“Nekou, would you go out in the park and train with me? I might not be cut out for here, but I don’t want to stop yet.”

 

“Gladly. Come on, let’s go.”

 

As Nekou and Olivia walked off, Dante stepped up next to Matt. “She has a strong will. If you ask this old man, she’s going places.”

 

-:-

 

Ghetsis sat in his temporary headquarters, his eyes closed in silent contemplation. His room was silent until all three members of the Shadow Triad appeared next to his seat, but even then, the only sounds were three gusts of wind.

 

“We have news, Lord Ghetsis,” Darkness rigidly announced.

 

“Speak,” ordered the cloaked man, keeping his eyes shut.

 

“Anthea and Concordia have finished their work on the Tenganist mythology.”

 

As soon as Pestilence finished, Chaos added, “We now have everything prepared to your specifications, Lord Ghetsis. The language for the key, the song to break the seal, the Clear Bell… it’s all ready.”

 

Ghetsis did not immediately answer, but the Shadow Triad all could see him starting to clench his teeth and grip his cane more tightly. Darkness and Pestilence remained calm, but Chaos flinched slightly, remembering what Ghetsis had done to him in the past.

 

Finally, Ghetsis slowly opened his eyes. He growled to his three followers, “Fine. You three must come to understand something, though. The Sacred Helix has grown suspicious of our activities.”

 

“Should we push up the schedule for your plan, Lord Ghetsis?” Pestilence asked.

 

“No. We must wait until the day we picked out in order for the maximum impact of my speech to come across. However, Athleta is sending one of his trainers here. It could present a problem for me, and by that, I mean it will present a problem for _me_.”

 

“Should we find and eliminate him?”

 

“If I knew who he was, Darkness, I would tell you to. All you can do is prepare for his interference in my plan. You three have to be ready to turn your weapons on both enemy and ally at a moment’s notice.”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three of the Shadow Triad said at once.

 

-:-

 

The boots worn by Jessie and James splashed loudly in the marshes they were running through. Meowth was riding on James’s head to avoid touching the foul water.

 

“This swamp is disgusting!” Jessie spat, not breaking her pace.

 

“We didn’t have a choice, Jessie!” James gasped. “Routes 39 and 38 would have taken far too long to get us to Ecruteak! Cutting straight there is the only way we won’t let the boss down!”

 

“We should have found some other way. Someone like me who has to worry about her image can’t be splashing around in swamp water all day.”

 

“Come on, Jess,” Meowth said. “If you think you can’t walk in that muck, how do you think I feel? I want to get out of here just as much as-”

 

Out of nowhere, something fell from one of the trees and collided with Meowth, knocking him off James’s head and into the murky water. While he started screaming and attempting to dry himself, Jessie and James lashed around to face the mystery assailant.

 

They found, much to their surprise, that it was a small, two-toned slug Pokémon with tiny black eyes and yellow cheeks.

 

“Goo!” he shouted at them, seemingly trying to appear tough.

 

“What a little brat,” Jessie remarked. She glanced briefly over to Meowth, who had finally pulled himself out of the water and was drying himself off with leaves.

 

“It’s a Goomy,” said James, looking at a picture of the Pokémon on his hologram remote, “a Dragon-type Pokémon native to the Kalos region.”

 

“Then let’s catch it!”

 

Pulling himself back up onto James’s head, Meowth said in agreement with Jessie, “Just imagine how happy the boss will be when he hears we got another Pokémon! And look at that little wimp over there… the boss will know exactly what to do with it. We’ll use it as a decoy and trick Polaris into thinking we’re weak, then strike!”

 

“The boss’s assistant wouldn’t think that was a good idea,” James replied, imagining Stacia coldly explaining what they could do with the Goomy. “She’d tell us about what kind of moves it can use. Like, for example, Goomy can learn Body Slam, Dragon Breath and Thunderbolt. When it evolves into Sliggoo and then Goodra, it would be a valuable tool.”

 

“I’m sold, let’s get it. Vivillon, let’s go!”

 

“Alright, Inkay, take it away!”

 

Jessie threw her Repeat Ball while James threw one of his Poké Balls, releasing their new Vivillon and Inkay respectively. Both Pokémon immediately started looking around in confusion at their surroundings.

 

“That’s right, we took them from Polaris…” Jessie angrily realized. “Vivillon, I’m your trainer now! Listen to me and I’ll spoil you rotten, okay?”

 

Vivillon nodded back to Jessie after a brief hesitation, but in that time, Goomy threw himself forward again, this time targeting Inkay.

 

“Hurry, Inkay, use Superpower!”

 

When Goomy collided with Inkay, the Dark-and-Psychic-type grabbed him with her tentacles, flipped over and smashed him into the ground. As she rose back into the air, a slight red aura surrounded her.

 

“Looks like squid girl over there likes fighting for you, James!” Meowth cheered.

 

Angered, Goomy flipped back out of the puddle he’d landed in and choked up a ball of slime at Vivillon.

 

“That’s Sludge Bomb!” James called out.

 

“Vivillon, stop it with Bug Buzz!”

 

Vivillon started beating his wings at rapid speed, sending red sound waves washing over the swamp. Jessie, James, Meowth and Inkay all cringed to endure the noise, while Goomy was stunned. The Sludge Bomb, meanwhile, lost some of its pace due to the waves and fell apart.

 

“We don’t have time for this,” James warned his teammates. “We have to get to Ecruteak and watch what Ghetsis does!”

 

Almost as if he sensed James’s desire to end the battle, Goomy took a deep breath and turned his mouth skyward. A sphere of orange light took shape inside, and he quickly shot it into the air, where it burst into several meteor-like blasts.

 

“Draco Meteor!” James and Meowth exclaimed together.

 

“There’s only one thing left to do,” Jessie decided, taking up another Poké Ball.

 

The impact of the blasts raining down caused an explosion that swept powerful winds through the swamp.

 

-:-

 

“Charlotte, dodge it and finish with Charge Beam!”

 

Matt was against a young, blonde woman dressed in tennis equipment. Her Growlithe was spitting bursts of flame at Charlotte, but the Eelektrik wound through the air, deftly avoiding every single one. Once the air was clear, she took aim and fired a focused beam of electricity from her mouth into the Fire-type, shocking him and causing him to collapse.

 

“Growlithe is unable to battle!” declared the waitress refereeing the match. “The winner is Eelektrik, and victory goes to Matt!”

 

Charlotte landed and looked down victoriously on the Growlithe. She’d beaten him with little effort, much like she had defeated the Psyduck and Doduo before him. Matt’s complete defeat of the trainer drew enthusiastic cheering from the crowd, leaving him cringing as he walked down the stairs from the stage.

 

Bunny, Dante, Monroe and one of the maids met him at the table.

 

“Well, another impressive performance,” Dante complimented him. “Maybe I was too hasty in worrying about your safety.”

 

“Thanks. Think nothing of it.” Though he tried to sound polite, Matt struggled to avoid allowing his nerves to come through in his voice.

 

The maid stepped up to him, and to his surprise, she handed the menu tablet right back to him. “We will award you three hundred Cafe Points for having all your Pokémon last through the battle. You spent three hundred points last round, so you now have an even balance of one thousand points again. Now, we are prepared to move right into your next battle. Please select your opponent.”

 

The three options on the tablet’s screen offered Matt the chance to battle a trainer with two Rock-types, a trainer with a Shiftry, and a trainer with a Fighting-and-Flying-type Pokémon. A price of three hundred Cafe Points was on the first choice, while the second and third cost two hundred.

 

“A Fighting-and-Flying-type?” Matt said, intrigued. “I’ve never heard of a Pokémon like that. I’ll take it.”

 

“Alright. Now, please take your place once again.”

 

His nerves temporarily soothed, Matt ascended the stairs he’d only just come down minutes earlier and stood still, waiting to see who he’d face. Another waitress soon appeared on the other side of the stage, ushering his opponent in. When he caught a glimpse of the green hat and cape on the person following her, his mouth fell open.

 

“Nando?”

 

“Well, well, what a pleasant surprise,” the bard said as he took his place. “I was hoping we would get to battle here, and I see that’s come true.”

 

“I was looking forward to it, actually.” Matt weakly smiled, barely hiding the nervous thoughts filling his head. _“I’m not as good as I need to be for this. I saw him fight in the finals of both a big battling tournament and a Grand Festival Contest. And I think I can actually stand up to that?!_

 

“The battle between Matt and Nando will now get underway!” the maid at center stage announced. “This is the third and final battle Matt must win in order to earn a battle with the Cafe Diva. Now, begin!”

 

Matt gripped a Poké Ball in his left hand. He could hear the sounds of his mechanical fingers shaking even from inside his bag, and the noise only served to increase the pressure on his nerves.

 

 _“I have to win this. If I can just get to a battle with the Brain, I’ll have the chance to talk to them… I won’t find Reshiram without leads.”_ Once he finally calmed himself enough, he threw the Poké Ball, calling out, “Charlotte, make your mark!”

 

“Alright, let’s begin! Kricketune, entry!”

 

Moments after Charlotte appeared and began floating in front of Matt, a Kricketune materialized from the Poké Ball that Nando threw. The Bug-type brought his arms together and hummed a short tune to announce his presence.

 

“Let’s get off to a quick start, Charlotte,” Matt decided. “Charge Beam!”

 

Promptly responding to her trainer’s direction, Charlotte pointed her mouth at Kricketune and started to charge up electricity.

 

“Kricketune, use Sticky Web!” Nando countered, holding his arm up into the air.

 

Instead of trying to escape from the imminent Charge Beam, Kricketune began spitting globs of a glue-like substance in Charlotte’s direction. She instinctually started moving to avoid them, but lost her electrical charge in the process.

 

“Charlotte, see if you can keep dodging them and still get Charge Beam off!”

 

At the table, Bunny crossed her arms. “Sticky Web’s an attack that slows down any victim that gets caught in it, but it usually doesn’t work on Levitating Pokémon or Flying-types.”

 

“But then if he’s using it…”

 

“That’s right,” Bunny said in response to the question Monroe hadn’t finished. “I said it doesn’t usually work, not that it _can’t_ work. Nando is clearly banking on that chance working out.”

 

In the air over the battlefield, Charlotte continued to weave in and out of the blobs as Kricketune sent them her way. Each one that missed hit a different portion of the battlefield, creating nets of webbing in their wake.

 

Nando ran his fingers over the strings of his harp, and at that, Kricketune relented. As soon as he stopped, Charlotte paused and began to prepare Charge Beam once more. However, Kricketune’s inactivity was actually a trap, and Charlotte stopping gave him an opening to cut her from the air with one more shot of thread.

 

“Now, Kricketune,” Nando said once Charlotte was pinned under the web, “Swords Dance!”

 

Kricketune waved his arms from side to side, and a ring of sword-shaped glowing lights appeared around him. After a moment, the lights absorbed into his body, and he cried out.

 

“Now that his attacking power is higher, I can’t afford to get hit…” Matt realized. “Charlotte, see if you can burn through the web with Acid Spray!”

 

Charlotte turned her head and began to spit up acid onto the threads holding her down. They did begin to wear away, but not before Nando thrust his hand forward in a decisive motion.

 

“Kricketune, X-Scissor!”

 

In an instant, Kricketune was in the air. His arms began to glow with a fierce red light as he crossed them and began to barrel down on the prone Eelektrik before him.

  
  
  
  
  


**END of CHAPTER 16**

 


	17. The Bard and the Diva

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt’s battle with Nando continues, with a match against the Cafe Diva at stake.

 Nothing to warn for here aside from some suggestive dialogue, but that’s in a humorous way. Just sit back and enjoy.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 17:** The Bard and the Diva

 

-:-

 

Northeast of the National Park and Battle Cafe, between Ecruteak City and Mahogany Town, stretched Route 42. It was a rugged road broken up by multiple rivers, which flowed from within Mt. Mortar. The craggy peak dominated the landscape, casting a wide shadow over the woods around it.

 

The thick brush around the road rustled as a black-and-white shape cut through. It was Nikolai’s jacket, and when he was about halfway down the route, he emerged from the bushes to observe his surroundings.

 

“Something’s not right here,” he mused out loud to himself. “I can feel so much negative energy here, so much suffering…”

 

A cry from below attracted Nikolai’s attention. It had come from a wild Magcargo, which was slithering away as fast as she could from a crab Pokémon with a large block of earth on his back.

 

“Transcend the confines of time and space!” Nikolai chanted, closing his eyes. “Crustle, please, stop chasing… oh!”

 

Overwhelmed by his attempt to connect with the Crustle, Nikolai reeled back. Down on the road, Crustle raised his claws and formed a giant boulder between them, which he then used to violently sweep away the Magcargo.

 

Just as Nikolai managed to recover, however, his ears filled with the sound of beating wings as a horde of large-eared, blue-and-black bat Pokémon flew over him. He raised his arms to shield his face and only lowered them when the Pokémon had passed.

 

“Noibat…”

 

All of a sudden, another rock flew through the air after the Noibat, nearly hitting Nikolai in the head. He whipped back around and saw that it had been thrown by a Timburr standing on an outcropping. The Fighting-type was accompanied by two other humanoid Pokémon, one red and one blue. Both of them had thick black eyebrows and wore white robes.

 

“Timburr, Throh and Sawk driving out Noibat…” Nikolai shook his head in disgust. “These Pokémon just cannot adapt to their new environments naturally…”

 

“Grab that Crustle!” a voice down on the road ordered. “The Timburr, Throh and Sawk too. Their aggressiveness is just right for Dr. Colress’s experiment!”

 

Nikolai returned to hiding in the bushes, but cleared just enough space so he could peer down at what was going on.

 

A group of five people - three men, two women, all dressed in identical Polaris uniforms - had assembled. On the orders of their leader, they drew gun-like weapons and began firing strange, blue-and-black Poké Balls at their targets. It took mere seconds for the Crustle, Timburr, Throh and Sawk to all be engulfed. Each ball floated to the person who had fired it, depositing themselves in tanks worn on the Polaris members’ backs.

 

The commander took a handheld computer out of his pocket and tapped on its screen. “These Pokémon should be enough to fulfill our work for Dr. Colress. With the work of the other teams, we’ve surely passed the quota. Come on, let’s get going.”

 

Nikolai waited until the Polaris members had completely retreated from sight before stepping out from the foliage.

 

“Those people…” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “They say they’re taking Pokémon for an experiment… I can’t sit and watch this.”

 

His mind made up, Nikolai carefully climbed down the rocks and headed for the road west to Ecruteak City.

 

-:-

 

Immediately after leaving the main dining floor, Nekou and Olivia had begun heading for the Battle Cafe’s exit, leaving Matt behind to wait for his next match. Right near the doors, Olivia stopped walking and grabbed Nekou’s arm to stop her.

 

“Olivia?” Nekou glanced back over her shoulder and down at her young friend. “What?”

 

“Before we go out training, I have…” she gestured toward a line of videophones against the wall, “...something I think I want to do first. I want to call someone.”

 

“Go ahead, I’ll wait here.”

 

Olivia released her grip on Nekou’s arm and hurried over to the phones. She methodically punched the number she wanted to call into the keyboard of one; at first, Nekou failed to understand the automatic nature of Olivia’s movements, but when Anabel’s tired face appeared on the screen, it hit her.

 

“Olivia…” Anabel’s voice sounded strained, and the bags under her eyes were particularly prominent. Nekou immediately thought she looked like she hadn’t slept for several days. “I’m… I’m really glad to hear from you.”

 

“I really had to call you, Mom. I wanted to tell you that I just had a battle with Matt.”

 

“Oh?” This news seemed to make Anabel’s tired eyes brighten slightly. “How did it go?”

 

“I lost,” Olivia said with a shrug. “I don’t care though. I got what I wanted, which was a chance to understand how strong I have to be. And besides, I got to knock out one of his Pokémon, so I’m happy with it. That’s not the only reason why I called you, though.”

 

“What would the other be?”  
  
From her vantage point several feet away, Nekou could see Olivia’s fists tighten. “I made a decision. You’ve seen those Polaris broadcasts, right? Well, Matt, Nekou, Bunny and I… we got caught up in what happened in Goldenrod City.”

 

“What?” Anabel’s eyes went wide, and from her side of the call, the sound of something crashing down could be heard. “Olivia, please, stay out of trouble! If anything happens to you, I…”

 

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Olivia interrupted her mother to firmly say. “I decided that I’m going to honor Dad by standing up to Polaris. What they want is against everything he taught me. And… I have to admit, I have very good friends who will help me get stronger and protect me. I can do it.”

 

“Your father’s primary concern was your safety. After all the torture we had to go through together… all we wanted was to give you a safe, comfortable life.”

 

“I… I…” Suddenly, Olivia was choking up, leaving her speech broken. “Don’t you think I know that? But you saw the news, if nobody does something to stop Polaris, there won’t be a safe, comfortable life for anyone!”

 

“But why does it have to be you?” Now Anabel was becoming noticeably distressed. “How much more do we have to give? Is it going to take my life and yours too before this stops?”

 

Olivia took a deep breath, seemingly in preparation to voice a strong counter to her mother’s fear, but instead relaxed slightly and changed the subject. “I know Dad would want me to do what’s right. I… I want to remember what having him around was like before things get any worse. I’m going to be in Ecruteak City later, so I want you to send some old home videos to the Pokémon Center for me. Please.”

“I… I can do that,” Anabel muttered, accepting defeat. _“Not like I could do anything. I couldn’t save Rich from himself when I was right there, why would I think I could save her from here…”_

 

While Olivia and Anabel worked their conversation to its conclusion, Nekou found herself standing rigidly still and staring. A cold chill worked its way down her body in spite of her coat.

 

 _“She tries to be tough, but… her strength isn’t just from her. She is strong when she has strength to draw from around her. She relies on Matt and Bunny and Monroe and…”_ Nekou felt her heart skip a beat, and her skin began to feel as cold as ice. _“...me. Fuck… I’ve been using her and lying to her just like everyone else… but, I’m… I’d be nothing without Maman, and now there’s someone who needs me just like I need Maman…”_

 

“Nekou, I’m ready to go.”

 

The sound of Olivia’s voice snapped Nekou out of her daze. “Yeah, yeah… sorry about that, I started daydreaming.” Before she could check herself, Nekou blurted out, “I have something I want to tell you.”

 

“What?”

 

“I…” Nekou had realized what she started, and suddenly found her courage gone. She quickly improvised, putting on her usual attitude and saying, “I really can’t fucking wait to help you train! Let’s get out there and raise some hell, how about it?”

 

-:-

 

About twenty minutes after Nekou and Olivia departed for the park, Matt found himself facing down the elegant yet furious force of Nando’s Kricketune’s offense. Charlotte was desperately trying to free herself from the Sticky Web she was trapped in by burning through it with Acid Spray. Yet, with Kricketune bearing down on her with his arms glowing intensely, she knew that her chances of escape were slim.

 

“Come on, Charlotte, go for it! Break through!”

 

Charlotte redoubled her efforts on Matt’s urging, and with the more intense flow of acid she used, she finally managed to burn the last of the threads away. However, just as she got free, Kricketune was on top of her. With a flowing motion he cut her twice in a brutal X-Scissor attack boosted by his earlier Swords Dance. Charlotte collapsed backward, two long gashes slashed into her sides.

 

“Eelektrik is unable to battle!” the refereeing maid announced over the roar of the crowd. “The winner is Kricketune!”

 

 _“He totally wrecked me…”_ Matt thought to himself as he recalled Charlotte. He took a moment to note the warm smile Nando greeted Kricketune’s performance with. _“I can’t underestimate him. Beneath that calm surface is a real fighter.”_

 

“He will have to tread very carefully,” Dante observed, leaning back in his chair and gripping his cane. “Kricketune’s moves are much more powerful as a result of that Swords Dance. Nando thought this out well.”

 

Deciding on his next course of action, Matt removed another Poké Ball from his bag and threw it. “Cordelia, it’s your turn! Make your mark!”

 

Matt’s Sigilyph took shape in the air above the battlefield, hovering safely over the Sticky Web hazards. She quickly glanced over the battlefield to gain an understanding of her environment.

 

“Go with caution, Kricketune,” Nando advised his Pokémon. “A partial Flying-type will not be an easy opponent.”

 

“Krick!” Kricketune enthusiastically responded.

 

“Cordelia, let’s strike first! Air Slash!”

 

“Kricketune, you know what to do!” Nando immediately countered, throwing his free hand into the air. “Disable it using Sing!”

 

While Cordelia’s wings started glowing, Kricketune crossed his arms and began rubbing them to create a soothing song. It manifested in the form of colorful music notes that first surrounded their maker before starting to float toward his enemy.

 

“Stop attacking and dodge!” Matt hurriedly directed.

 

Just before the notes reached her, Cordelia aborted her attack and threw herself backward. The notes floated harmlessly past her, but she struggled to right herself in the air.

 

“Use that opening to perform another Swords Dance,” Nando calmly said, running his fingers over his harp’s strings.

 

“That’s really bad…” Bunny gasped as she watched Kricketune sway on the stage. “Sigilyph might have been able to weather an X-Scissor with one boost behind it, but two? This could be over already…”

 

“How Matt responds to this will tell us if he really thinks he can stand up to Polaris or if it’s all bluster,” Dante added.

 

Up on the battlefield, Matt was well aware of the danger he faced. A combination of the intensity of the battle and his nerves from the increasingly enthusiastic crowd left sweat dripping down his forehead.

 

“Nothing we can do but attack, Cordelia! Try Air Slash once again!”

 

“Kricketune, X-Scissor will be adequate for defense.”

 

Once again, Cordelia’s wings took on a soft blue glow. She crossed and then sharply separated them, sending several blades of wind through the air in Kricketune’s direction.

 

The Bug-type wasn’t shaken, however. He merely swung his arms, which were now cloaked in twice as much energy as before, and cut down each blade before they reached him.

 

“So now you’re so strong that you can use an attack to defend,” Matt said through clenched teeth.

 

“Indeed,” Nando confirmed, “but I would like to show you Kricketune’s offensive capability as well.”

 

“I guess there’s no way we can avoid that. Cordelia, Psychic!”

 

Nando pointed forward and called, “Kricketune, another X-Scissor!”

 

Kricketune started to fly upward, only to be pinned by the psychic energy Cordelia used to restrain him. He valiantly fought to free himself, but Cordelia had a sharp focus on his position.

 

“Ah, well played, Matt,” Nando complimented. “I see you still had some tricks up your sleeve.”

 

 _“But what now?”_ Just as his thought completed, Matt was hit by an idea. “Cordelia, release Kricketune!”

 

Nando was taken aback by this turn. _“He must be intending to execute a plan… but what?”_ Once Kricketune had been freed from the Psychic, Nando said, “One more X-Scissor, if you please.”

 

With his arms once again shining brightly, Kricketune flew straight at Cordelia. This was, however, exactly what Matt expected.

 

“Ice Beam right now!”

 

Before Kricketune could deliver his blow, he was blasted back by a ray of freezing energy that Cordelia fired from her body. Ice formed on the edges of his arms and wings, impairing his movements.

 

“Kricketune, you must try to move!”

 

“Just what I had hoped for.” Matt smiled, his focus on the battle allowing him to forget the crowd momentarily. “Air Slash!”

 

Several air blades rained down on Kricketune, and this time, he was unable to knock them away. His lack of defense left him to suffer the rapid, cutting strikes, and when they finally relented, he fell.

 

“Kricketune is unable to battle! The winner is Sigilyph!”

 

“He turned it around!” Monroe cheered.

 

“Perhaps I was underestimating his capability…” Dante said to himself.

 

“Kricketune, your performance was admirable. Have a fine rest.” Once Kricketune had returned to its confines, Nando placed the Poké Ball in his bag. “Matt, I am impressed with your techniques. For someone with no Contest training, you are skilled at improvisational movements.”

 

“I studied in Hoenn for years, what can I say?” Matt chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. His nerves had returned after his brief spike in focus. “I’ve seen my share of Contests, even if I haven’t participated in them myself.”

 

“Then we shall see how you handle my next Pokémon.” Throwing his next Poké Ball in a fluid, dramatic motion, Nando announced, “Ludicolo, make your entry!”

 

Nando’s Ludicolo seemed completely unaware of Cordelia once she materialized on the battlefield. She simply danced cheerfully around in place, singing to herself.

 

Matt thought back to when he had seen Dahlia’s Ludicolo fight Nando’s Leavanny at the Battle Arcade. While the tables had been turned back then and the Ludicolo belonged to a Frontier Brain, the sight had left Matt well aware of what the species was capable of, especially in the hands of a creative tactician like Nando.

 

Cautiously putting his right foot forward slightly, Matt directed, “We shouldn’t take this easy, Cordelia. Try to get in an Air Slash right away!”

 

“Ludicolo,” Nando said, closing his eyes, “Rain Dance.”

 

Ludicolo continued to ignore Cordelia and dance around. Dark clouds gathered against the ceiling over the battlefield and soon gave way to a steady rainfall. Cordelia brought down the blades of her Air Slash, but with sudden, surprising speed, Ludicolo swayed away from most of them. Only one nicked her, across the leg.

 

Matt started to gasp, but he realized what was going on and stopped himself. He looked up and mumbled, “Oh, right. Ludicolo’s Swift Swim, raises up its speed in the rain. I should have figured it out.”

 

“Very apt observation, Matt. Swift Swim is the centerpiece of Ludicolo’s performance.” Thrusting his finger forward again, Nando called out, “Now please, experience it! Blizzard!”

 

As soon as her trainer gave the direction, Ludicolo performed a sharp backflip and breathed out a vicious gust of icy air. Cordelia was able to anticipate it, however, and frantically flew away from the vortex. Just before Ludicolo ceased her attack, though, it managed to clip Cordelia’s wing. The Psychic-and-Flying-type shuddered violently; she wasn’t terribly hurt, but the blast had sent a strong chill through her body.

 

While the Pokémon separated, Matt stared forward, trying to take stock of his situation. _“Cordelia’s just a bit too slow. She won’t be able to keep up, and those Blizzards will overwhelm her. On the other hand, Rocky is more threatened by the Sticky Web… although…”_ He raised up a Poké Ball once he came to a decision. “Come back, Cordelia. Rocky, make your mark!”

 

“He’s sending in Hitmonchan?” Bunny gulped as Rocky appeared on the stage. “A land-based Pokémon is susceptible to those traps Kricketune laid…”

 

“I suspect he has a trick up his sleeve,” Dante mused. “If not, his reckless nature will only lead to his demise in battle.”

 

“Hitmonchan? I consider that a surprise. Ludicolo, let’s incapacitate it swiftly. Grass Knot, please.”

 

“Rocky, use Role Play!”

 

Rocky and Ludicolo locked their gazes, and both Pokémon had their eyes flash. A tendril of grass appeared below Rocky’s feet and attempted to grab his leg, but the Hitmonchan avoided it by leaping agilely out of the way.

 

“Ah!” Nando exclaimed, his eyes briefly widening. “Clever, very much so. You used my strategy against me.”

 

“That’s right,” Matt replied, focusing in on the battle once more. “Now we both have Swift Swim, so we’re on even footing.”

 

“Very well. You’re thinking like a Coordinator would, so please, show me what you make with my strategy in your hands.”

 

“Alright!” Vivid images were running through Matt’s mind. Once he had shut off the crowd again, he was actually able to visualize a number of ideas for how to conduct the battle. “Rocky, Ice Punch!”

 

“Ludicolo, Surf!” Nando countered, dramatically waving his free arm.

 

Rocky shot like a bullet toward Ludicolo, who surrounded her body with a wave of water she sent his way. He swung and punched the water itself, causing some of it to freeze back to Ludicolo while the rest buffeted him.

 

“Drain Punch, and use the ice for a vantage point!”

 

Rocky jumped onto the trail of ice the clash of attacks had created and skated down it toward Ludicolo, his fist pulled back and glowing green. The tactic caught Nando off guard, and he hesitated in giving an order.

 

“Ludicolo, Blizzard!”

 

Nando’s hesitation resulted in Ludicolo not making a move before Rocky had already hit her with a strong uppercut to the chin. The green light broke away from his fist and flowed back into his body, healing some of what he had suffered due to Ludicolo’s Surf.

 

Once she shook off the blow, Ludicolo had nearly point-blank range to blast Rocky with her harsh, icy gale. He stumbled back several paces, only just managing to avoid stepping right into one of the Sticky Webs.

 

“Alright, Ludicolo, use Surf once more!”

 

“Meet it with Thunder Punch!”

 

Ludicolo released another flood of water, which Rocky met with an electrically charged punch. The electricity flowed through the water, shocking the Pokémon on both ends. An explosion moments later forced him to break apart once more, and both of them were battered and breathing heavily.

 

“It looks like this will be the conclusion of this match,” Nando commented. “Shall we go ahead and see who prevails?”

 

“I’m up for it if you are…”

 

“Then let’s find out how this performance ends!” After pulling his fingers quickly across his harp strings, Nando said, “Ludicolo, Blizzard!”

 

“Rocky, use Drain Punch!”

 

Using what speed he could gather from the fading rain, Rocky tried to rush Ludicolo in the hopes of recovering some stamina, but she was more than ready to stop him. The Blizzard she unleashed violently washed over him, sending waves of painful cold through his muscles. Well before he had gotten to within reach of Ludicolo, he fell to his knees, then collapsed forward.

 

“Hitmonchan is unable to battle! The winner is Ludicolo!”

 

An ocean of cheering erupted from the spectators surrounding where Matt’s friends had gathered. They didn’t share the sentiment. As they watched Matt bring Rocky back to his Poké Ball, they began quietly murmuring amongst themselves.

 

“He’s only got Sigilyph left now,” Bunny pointed out.

 

“And Ludicolo can beat it with Blizzard…” added Monroe.

 

“Sigilyph still has a type advantage.” Dante tightened his grip on his cane until his hand started to redden. “You’re his friends. I’m sure you’re hoping for him to win. He needs to, right?”

 

The rain ended and the clouds dissipated while Matt prepared Cordelia’s Poké Ball once more. His nerves were more frayed than ever; he stood still, nearly crushing the Poké Ball in his grip. He wasn’t shaking violently enough for the crowd to see it under his heavy coat, but the cheering was echoing through his head and making him dizzy.

 

“Matt!” Nando’s voice was actually relieving to him, as it gave him something to ground himself back into reality with. “Don’t give up yet. You came this far, so I think you have a bit more left to show me.”

 

“Al…” Matt steadied himself by widening his stance slightly. “Alright… you’re right, sorry about that.”

 

“Shall we begin, then?”

 

 _“Get through this and you get to talk to the Cafe Diva about Reshiram,”_ Matt thought. Taking a breath, he finally threw the Poké Ball. “Cordelia, make your mark once again!”

 

When she appeared in the air in front of Matt, Cordelia looked down. She lowered her eye when she noticed that Ludicolo was still active and grumbled to herself.

 

“Don’t get worked up, Cordelia!” Matt called up to her in an attempt to soothe her. “Ludicolo’s not as fast anymore!”

 

“Good thinking, Matt,” Nando complimented. “Your perception is accurate. Unfortunately for you, I still have Blizzard!”

 

“Cut it down with Air Slash! Hurry!”

 

The absence of the rain was enough to tip the balance of power. Both Cordelia and Ludicolo readied themselves to strike at each other, but Cordelia was the one to act first. Her Air Slash blades cut away at Ludicolo’s body, sending pieces of Nando’s Pokémon’s grassy cloak flying everywhere.

 

Nando gasped and stepped forward, but there was nothing he could do. Ludicolo spun around in place, then collapsed forward.

 

“Ludicolo is unable to battle!” the referee maid confirmed. “The winner is Sigilyph!”

 

“And now it comes down to one-on-one.”

 

“Say again? I can’t hear you…”

 

Dante looked at Bunny and, after a moment, laughed. He hadn’t realized that the crowd was drowning out his voice at first and raised it. “I said it now is one-on-one. And you doubted him before?”

 

“I didn’t say I did!”

 

With a chuckle, Dante turned slowly back to the battle. “Fine, fine. Forgive me. Let’s find out how this ends.”

 

“I know what’s left, Nando,” Matt said, speaking loudly so he could be heard. “The Fighting-and-Flying-type Pokémon. I picked you so I could see it. Please, bring it out!”

 

“So you want to see one of my newest Pokémon? Very well. Allow me to show you a new kind of performance I’ve crafted.” After a quick strum of his harp strings, Nando pulled a Poké Ball from his bag, threw it and announced, “Hawlucha, make your entry!”

 

The Pokémon that appeared was shorter than Matt had expected, only about three feet in height. His white body was cloaked in red, cape-like feathers, and the green pattern on his head made it look as if he was wearing a mask.

 

“Haww!” the Pokémon cried, spreading his wings and raising his head to the sky.

 

“That sure isn’t anything I’ve seen before after all…”

 

Matt fumbled with his bag to get his tablet out, then pointed it at the Pokémon and scanned him with the Pokédex program.

 

_“Hawlucha, the wrestling Pokémon. Type is Fighting and Flying. Although its body is small, its proficient fighting skills enable it to keep up with big bruisers like Machamp and Hariyama. With its wings, it controls its position in the air. It likes to attack from above, a maneuver that is difficult to defend against.”_

 

“Hawlucha is a Pokémon from the Kalos region that has come here,” Nando calmly explained, “and it is also the only Fighting-and-Flying-type in existence. No Pokémon can perform in the way that Hawlucha can. Your choice to face it out of curiosity was a good one.”

 

“It’s not like the Pokémon I know you use, at least the usual lot.” Matt lowered his head. _“That’s an understatement. Kricketune and Ludicolo, I had an idea how he’d use them. This thing…”_

 

“I think you’ll enjoy the aerial show I’ve devised. Shall we begin? Hawlucha, Swords Dance.”

 

Hawlucha crossed his arms, cloaking himself in his feather cape. Sword-shaped lights surrounded him, much like they had done for Kricketune earlier, and revolved around him for a moment before floating into his body. As soon as they connected with him, he spread his wings and cried upward once more.

 

“Fighting and Flying means the weaknesses of both,” Matt reasoned. “Let’s take quick action, Cordelia. Use Psychic!”

 

After her experience with Kricketune, Cordelia knew well enough to not underestimate a Pokémon fueled by Swords Dance. She swiftly used her power to wrap Hawlucha in light and lift his shaking body upward.

 

“Alright, Cordelia,” Matt shouted, throwing his hand upward. “You know what to do!”

 

Mimicking her trainer’s motion, Cordelia swung her body back, tossing Hawlucha toward the ceiling.

 

“So you’re not used to Hawlucha’s battling style yet, I see.” Smiling smugly, Nando played a chord and directed, “Recover and use Steel Wing, please.”

 

Almost instantly, Hawlucha turned his erratic flight path into an elegant somersault. Matt could only watch in awe as the Pokémon landed gently against a nearby pillar, then dove straight for Cordelia with his wings shining like metal.

 

“Hurry, get out of the way!” Matt gasped.

 

Cordelia couldn’t react quickly enough to her opponent, who was shooting at her like a bullet. She only barely managed to avoid a direct blow to her body. Hawlucha’s iron-hard wings slashed a thin but bloody gash into her side instead.

 

“Cordelia!” While Cordelia was tumbling through the air, Hawlucha landed on another column. Matt could see him preparing his stance for his next attack. Desperate to cut it off, Matt called out, “Air Slash!”

 

“Hawlucha…” Nando responded, accompanied by a chord from his harp.

 

Hawlucha sprang off the pillar and dove straight toward the blades of air that were approaching him. Just before the collision, he spread his wings, catching the wind from his opponent’s attack and using it to propel himself upward.

 

“Flying Press!”

 

Straightening out his body, Hawlucha dropped himself into a body slam technique that Cordelia had no defense against. The two Flying-type Pokémon separated violently from each other, with Hawlucha using the impact force of his attack to throw himself into the lights above the battlefield.

 

“Recall what your Pokédex said about Hawlucha, Matt. It uses its wings to control its movements and prefers to attack from above.”

 

 _“That’s right,”_ Matt silently realized. _“I should have paid attention…”_

 

“And Flying Press is a move that only Hawlucha can learn,” Nando further elaborated. “It is unique in that it does damage of both the Fighting and Flying types at the same time. Truly, a performance technique that only Hawlucha can achieve!”

 

“I have to have some response for that… if I can’t even outmaneuver it in the air, there’s no way I can win at all…”

 

“Hawlucha, Steel Wing!”

 

“Cordelia, dodge it and use Ice Beam!”

 

With a shrill cry, Hawlucha darted straight down at Cordelia from the lights. She managed to swing out of the way of his attack this time, however, and responded with a quick shot of ice into his back. He recovered only a fraction of a second before he would have hit the ground, but it was still enough for him to spread his wings and glide back onto a column.

 

“Ah, well done, Matt. If Hawlucha was to take much more of that, it would be the end for us. So, shall we end this once and for all? Hawlucha, Steel Wing once more!”

 

Hawlucha, now angered by Cordelia’s resistance, started growling at her before springing off the pillar. Even though he’d been weakened, his emotion was driving him to shoot through the air at an even higher speed than before. She began to prepare an Air Slash despite not having a command to do so, but Hawlucha collided with her long before she could act. Nando’s Pokémon used the force of the blow to kick himself back up toward the lights, while Cordelia hung limply in the air, her body battered.

 

 _“Cordelia can’t take much more of this. I’m lucky she survived that one alone…”_ Seeing Hawlucha getting ready to finish the battle with another Steel Wing, Matt was suddenly struck by an idea. “Air Slash at close range! Fight it on its own terms!”

 

Just as Hawlucha started to descend toward her, Cordelia found a final burst of energy within herself. She used the wind blades that took shape around her wings to lash out at Hawlucha. Despite avoiding getting directly hit, he couldn’t break through to strike her either, so he used the wind coming from Cordelia’s wings to drift back.

 

“Steel Wing again and again!” Nando shouted, extending his arm in the direction of the clashing Pokémon. “Do not relent!”

 

“You keep fighting back with Air Slash, Cordelia!”

 

Using every bit of strength they had, Cordelia and Hawlucha rushed each other. Neither could score a finishing blow with how fast they were moving. All they could do in their furious duel was graze each other.

 

The crowd, which had been actively cheering throughout the battle, became quiet. They were fascinated by Cordelia and Hawlucha rising higher and higher, twisting around each other as they fought for the one moment of dominance they’d need to come out victorious. Matt’s friends at his table were no exception.

 

“Look at them go…” Bunny said in awe.

 

“This really is like a Contest battle,” Monroe added. “I wish Olivia were here to see this.”

 

Dante, meanwhile, sat silently in his chair. He was rocking back and forth, watching the battle through narrowed eyes.

 

 _“He is relentless!”_ Nando thought to himself. _“Expecting basic techniques to win the day was a mistake. I will have to resort to my final performance combination!”_ Tightly holding onto his harp, Nando ordered, “Hawlucha, use Flying Press!”

 

Hawlucha abruptly broke away from the exchange, leaving Cordelia to fumble in midair. He dropped himself into her, but he failed to do significant damage.

 

This was, however, exactly what Nando intended to happen. “Now seize Sigilyph with Sky Drop!”

 

Pushing himself against Cordelia, Hawlucha sank his claws into her sides and started plummeting toward the stage with her in his grasp.

 

“Sky Drop has no effect on Flying-types,” Bunny said out loud. “What is he going for?”

 

“The Sticky Web!” Monroe realized.

 

Indeed, Hawlucha was carrying Cordelia straight for one of the traps of thread that had been on the battlefield all along. Matt saw this and immediately knew what to do.

 

“Cordelia…” he said, clenching his fist, “...flip and use Psychic!”

 

“Hawlucha, do not allow it!” Nando cried, realizing instantly what Matt was trying.

 

Hawlucha tried to hold onto Cordelia, but her violent flip combined with the influence of her Psychic caused him to lose his grasp. She threw him downward, straight into the Sticky Web he had been aiming for.

 

“Now finish it with Air Slash!”

 

Righting herself in the air, Cordelia glared down at Hawlucha, who was completely trapped in the thread. After taking a moment to savor her victory, she rained down blades of wind upon him.

 

“Hawlucha!”

 

Even though he called out to his Pokémon, Nando knew the battle was over. Once Cordelia’s assault ceased, Hawlucha was lying still in a pile of shredded feathers and silk.

 

“Hawlucha is unable to battle!” announced the maid, confirming what was already obvious. “The winner is Sigilyph, and victory goes to Matt!”

 

“I… I did it…” Matt said, staring blankly ahead. “Maybe I’ll find something out after all…”

 

Nando, meanwhile, approached his fallen Hawlucha and lowered himself to take the Pokémon in his arms. “You gave it your all, Hawlucha. Do not find shame in your loss.”

 

“Lucha…” replied the Fighting-and-Flying-type. He curled up comfortably in his trainer’s arms.

 

“Rest up for your next performance. You’ll win then.” After sending Hawlucha back to the safety of his Poké Ball, Nando stood. “Well done, Matt. You completely overwhelmed my tactics.”

 

“I… I don’t know how I did it…” Matt was still frozen in shock, and could barely speak. “You were so much better…”

 

“Your Pokémon fought fiercely. I saw belief in what they fought for in every move. Perhaps you’re not fully perceiving it yet?”

 

 _“I’ll have to ask Nikolai if that’s true…”_ Matt thought.

 

“Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in your battle with the Cafe Diva. I must be off for my own challenge battles. We’ll meet again!”

 

Nando turned around and walked off the stage, playing an upbeat tune on his harp. Matt didn’t snap out of his daze until he was approached by one of the maids.

 

“As you’ve fulfilled your challenge requirement,” she said to him, “your next match will be against the Cafe Diva. You’ve won one hundred Cafe Points for finishing this battle with one Pokémon left, so you have a total of nine hundred points in reserve. Please return to your table and await your match with the Frontier Brain.”

 

“Uh...right, thanks.”

 

Bunny and Monroe were standing as Matt returned to the table. She went right up to him and said, “You really have to stop doubting yourself! Not everyone could have done that!”

 

“Bunny’s right,” Monroe agreed. “I think I even learned something watching that.”

 

“I really didn’t do anything special…” Matt responded, shrinking back from the compliments.

 

“No, they’re right,” Dante interjected. He didn’t stand, instead gently tossing his cane back and forth between his hands while he spoke. “Your opponent was an entrant in multiple Pokémon League and Grand Festival tournaments. Not someone to be trifled with.” Catching his cane in his right hand, he locked eyes with Matt and said, “I apologize for my words earlier. I can see now I was getting too big for my britches telling you that facing Polaris was a danger. I misjudged you. If anyone can lead a resistance to their plan, it’s you.”

 

Matt laughed weakly and gripped the strap of his bag. “I’m flattered, but really, I wouldn’t say I lead anything against them…”

 

“Sometimes the strongest leaders are those who aren’t even recognized as such, even by themselves,” Dante said with a smile. “Now go on, face the Frontier Brain. I want to be even more impressed.”

 

-:-

 

Zager’s laboratory filled with the sound of Pierce’s heavy boots striking the floor as the agent entered. He was carrying a case in his right hand, and there were traces of frost on his face, coat and hair.

 

“Pierce!” Zager came dashing out from a side room when he heard his visitor, and Galvantula emerged from underneath his table in the main lab. “I’ve been waiting for you! Please, show me what you’ve brought.”

 

“As per Giovanni’s command, the small piece of the Meteonite that we managed to steal from Polaris.”

 

Pierce stiffly extended his arm, and Zager accepted the case from him. The two Team Rocket members then walked together to Zager’s computer console. Galvantula followed, so Pierce turned around and leaned down to pet her.

 

“I’m glad to see you too, Galvantula. Sorry I didn’t bring you any Poké Puffs this time.”

 

“She only just finished that huge lot you gave her last time,” Zager said, not turning from his work setting up the Meteonite piece on a machine. “She’s not getting any younger. It’s bad enough she ate half of Ariana’s doughnuts.”

 

“Yes, forgive me…” Pierce awkwardly stood up, then returned to Zager’s side. He reached into his coat pocket, retrieved the flash drive and set it on the computer. “Giovanni and Rosalie also requested I bring this. It’s the data extracted from the Purine Base’s computers. We need you to decrypt it and see if you can learn anything about their plan.”

 

Zager gulped. “I’ll have a look…”

 

-:-

 

The car Zinzolin had used to flee Goldenrod City’s plaza after Team Rocket attacked his speech tore north through the streets of Ecruteak City. A Polaris member was driving while the old man sat in the passenger seat with his arms crossed and his eyes tightly closed. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead, brought on by his thoughts of having to go before Ghetsis.

 

When the car reached the Bell Tower temple, it stopped. Zinzolin took a deep breath to compose himself before getting out, but what he wasn’t aware of as he walked inside was that three trenchcoat-wearing figures were watching him from the trees.

 

“Well, well,” Jessie said to James and Meowth “the iceman cometh.”

 

“And he led us right to Ghetsis,” James added. “I’d put our last paycheck on that shrine being his base.”

 

“Come on, we gotta tell the boss about this!” Meowth pulled on the suitcase in James’s hand. “We keep making him happy and we’ll be at the top in no time!”

 

-:-

 

“I’m very disappointed in you, Zinzolin,” Ghetsis growled, clutching the handle of his cane in one hand and the armrest of his throne in the other. Zinzolin was bowing before him, noticeably trembling even under his heavy coat. “You had a very simple task. Present our ideals to the people of Goldenrod City in preparation for the speech I’m going to give here. And yet some relics of the past like Team Rocket disrupted you?!”

 

Zinzolin clutched at his coat. His back was breaking, but he knew that if he straightened up, the consequences would be dire. “Flash polling suggests that our ideals have still taken hold, Lord Ghetsis. Team Rocket’s interference caused only minimal harm.”

 

Ghetsis turned his head up so he could glare down at the old man cowering in front of him. “And what gives you the idea that any harm at all is acceptable? Perhaps you do not recall who you serve, Zinzolin. You do not serve that idiot Finansielle, or even Father. He calls himself a leader and yet he fears showing himself… No, you serve only me, Ghetsis, the perfect ruler who will inherit this world in the name of Harmonia. What have you got to say for yourself?”

 

“I… I dealt with them,” Zinzolin stuttered. “I was ambushed, but I did what I could…”

 

“Team Rocket’s members are not trembling at my feet and awaiting their judgment. You are. Does that make it sound like what you could do was enough? Perfect? Tell me, have you lost all hope? What punishment do you think you deserve for your failure?”

 

Zinzolin’s skin ran cold. He knew exactly what Ghetsis was capable of, and feared that things had gone past the point where anything he could say would help. “A...Anything you decide, Lord Ghetsis…”

 

“Pray to whatever you can that my judgment will be merciful. Begone.”

 

After struggling to stand, Zinzolin hobbled out of Ghetsis’s chamber, his mind consumed with fear. _“Just allow me to see the speech…”_

 

Once Zinzolin was gone, Ghetsis relaxed. A moment later, Darkness of the Shadow Triad appeared next to him.

 

“Very well done, Lord Ghetsis. If I may ask, have you decided upon a punishment for his failure?”

 

“You just watched me give it to him. Now what is it?”

 

A look of awe and respect briefly flashed through Darkness’s eyes. “I have received word that Team Plasma’s Trojan horse has arrived in Ecruteak City, Lord Ghetsis.”

 

“Establish contact with her at once,” Ghetsis ordered. He then turned upward, allowing the light of his video screen to sparkle in his eye. “The two Tenganist witches, Professor Elm, the Clear Bell and our Trojan horse… we now have everything we need. Polaris and this entire world will fall at my feet.”

 

-:-

 

“Dalian, use Thief!”

 

“Minccino, counter it with Tail Slap!”

 

Nekou and Olivia were out in the grass of the park, not far from the Battle Cafe. They had all of their Pokémon out from their Poké Balls for the training they were conducting, with Minccino and Dalian the Gothorita currently sparring. While they dashed at each other, the other Pokémon were clustered together, watching from the sidelines. Mr. Mime was the only one separate from them, sitting off by himself.

 

“Snea…” Marie snickered as she watched Minccino and Dalian bat at each other.

 

Picking up on the passive aggression Marie was showing, Olivia’s Roselia turned and hissed at her. Marie brought her claw to her mouth and simply laughed back, mocking the incensed Grass-and-Poison-type.

 

“Sneasel, snea. Snea ea sel…”

 

Roselia stared in awe of Marie’s bad attitude, but Dewott was upset by how she was insulting Minccino. He pulled one of his shells from his legs and drew a Razor Shell with it, which he then angrily swung at Marie. She nonchalantly batted the weapon away with her False Swipe, then turned to her companions, Edgar the Duskull, Lenore the Murkrow and Nekou’s Zorua.

 

“Sel!”

 

Edgar and Zorua laughed along with Marie at her prompting, while Lenore audibly groaned. Among Olivia’s Pokémon, Herdier turned away, while Roselia continued to fume. Dewott’s anger only increased with Marie’s behavior.

 

“Dewott!” he cried, bringing out his other Razor Shell.

 

“Krab! Krabby!”

 

Though he was still a new addition to the team, Krabby was comfortable enough to try getting between Dewott and Marie, holding them apart with his claws.

 

“What are you all doing?!” Olivia had finally taken notice of the Pokémon fighting, and broke off her training to run over to them. “What is this?”

 

The Pokémon all turned up to face Olivia and Nekou, who stepped up alongside her friend. Their responses to her scolding were sharply divided by group. Olivia’s own Pokémon seemed apologetic for the argument, aside from Dewott, who kept grumbling to himself as he retrieved his shells. Nekou’s Pokémon, on the other hand, all looked smug. Only Lenore showed even a hint of embarrassment.

 

“Marie, were you fucking with them?” Nekou asked, though she didn’t even need to wait for a reply before turning to Olivia. “She does this all the time, breaking the balls of other Pokémon. She doesn’t mean it, it’s all fun to her.”

 

“Is that true?” Olivia demanded of Marie, putting her fists on her hips. Marie just snickered once more, prompting Olivia to say, “You little sneak. Although, it doesn’t shock me much given who your trainer is.”

 

Both Olivia and Nekou laughed, but their cheer was short-lived once they noticed Mr. Mime, who was still sitting alone.

 

“What’s up with Mr. Mime?” Nekou wondered. “He’s looking out of sorts.”

 

“I… I’m not sure. Do you think that he’s upset over losing before?”

 

While Olivia and Nekou continued discussing the circumstances, they were unaware of a pair of dark eyes watching them. A cloud-like yellow shape shifted through a nearby patch of grass, attempting to get a better view.

 

“Mareep…”

 

-:-

 

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the head maid announced from the center of the stage, “we now present the main performance of today’s Battle Cafe event! Entering on the challenger’s side, Matt from Snowpoint City!”

 

A spotlight went up on the left-hand side of the stage, illuminating a path for Matt as he was escorted by the waitress who provided the menus. He cringed under the pressure of the audience’s loud cheering and lowered his head, finding himself missing the hat he’d lost on the train. He did, however, find some comfort when he saw his group’s table. Monroe and Bunny were applauding, while Dante smiled supportively.

 

“Matt, it’s now time for you to make your final selection.” After handing Matt the menu tablet, the maid said to him, “This round will work a little differently from the others. Because your opponent has already been determined, you will decide which of three pieces of information you would like to purchase about them. Please have a look.”

 

Matt looked down at the options he was being given. For three hundred Cafe Points he could learn the types of one of the Cafe Diva’s Pokémon, two moves of one  for Pokémon for five hundred points, or the name of a single Pokémon for seven hundred.

 

“Well, I can afford any of these, so I think I have to take what sounds like the best one,” he said with a shrug. “The name of a Pokémon.”

 

“Very well.” The waitress took back the tablet, then said to him, “The Cafe Diva will be using an Azumarill in your battle with her. Good luck.”

 

“Did she say Azumarill?” Monroe asked Bunny as Matt got ready on the stage.

 

“Yeah. He should be well-equipped to deal with a Water-type, since he has Eelektrik plus Hitmonchan and Sigilyph with Electric and Grass moves.”

 

The spotlights went down on the stage before the head maid began speaking again.

 

“And now… the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Honorable guests of the Battle Cafe, we now present to you the one you came to see! Our leader and Frontier Brain, the one and only… Cafe Diva Lyra!”

All the lights went on at once, in perfect sync with an eruption of cheering from the crowd. Matt didn’t become nervous, though; instead, he just slouched when he saw Lyra coming up the stairs toward him.

 

“I knew it was her,” he sighed.

 

“Thank you!” Lyra shouted, waving to the crowd. “Thanks, everyone! Aw, you’re all so sweet! I love all of you!” She shifted her attention to Matt and fixed an intense gaze on him. “I had a feeling I’d get to face you from the moment we met. Thorton told me to watch out for you.”

 

“How would he know? I never even got to battle him.”

 

“He said you showed enough ingenuity to take down a Tornadus and only lost to foreign Pokémon you probably haven’t seen before.” Lyra put her hands on her hips and demanded, “Are you saying you’re going to disappoint me?”

 

“Don’t get your hopes up…”

 

“If you don’t think you can win, why did you come here?”

 

“Because I’m looking for Reshiram,” Matt immediately answered, a sudden surge of confidence flooding through him. “I figured trainers gathered from all over would be able to give me information, so Frontier Brains seemed natural to approach.”

 

“You’re a funny guy, you know that?” Lyra said with a playful wink. “I never thought anyone would come here looking for a Pokémon from Unova. But enough talk. Let’s get started!”

 

“The challenger, Matt, versus the Cafe Diva, Lyra!” announced the referee maid. “Send out your first Pokémon!”

 

“Alright, it’s showtime for us! Come on out, Ninjask!”

 

“Rocky, make your mark!”

 

“What is that boy up to?” Dante wondered aloud, seeing Matt’s Hitmonchan come out to face Lyra’s Ninjask. “Did he forget his bloody type matchups?”

 

“Bug-and-Flying is pretty nasty against Fighting,” Bunny admitted, “but I think he’s got some kind of plan. He must.”

 

“The first round is Hitmonchan versus Ninjask! Begin the battle!”

 

Lyra wasted no time in giving her first order, saying it as she clicked her heel on the floor. “Ninjask, Swords Dance!”

 

“I thought you might do something like that. Rocky, Role Play!”

 

Ninjask was surrounded by swords of light that flowed into her body, much like Nando’s Pokémon had been earlier. Rocky made no attempt to even approach her, instead, he stared at her and allowed light to flash in his eyes. A blue aura enveloped them both shortly afterward.

 

“Clever, that’s simply so clever!” Lyra complimented. “Stealing my Speed Boost like that… maybe I can be as rough as I’d like to be with you!”

 

“I’d expect nothing less from a Frontier Brain.” Raising his head, Matt directed, “Thunder Punch!”

 

“Ninjask, use Protect!”

 

Rocky lunged through the air toward Ninjask at a high speed, but the Bug-and-Flying-type’s reaction was too fast. She put up a shield of green light in front of herself, and the Thunder Punch bounced harmlessly off of it. As the two Pokémon separated, their blue auras got slightly more intense.

 

“Alright, Ninjask, it’s time to kick this into high gear! Baton Pass!”

 

A bright flash burst from Ninjask’s body, and she turned into energy that returned itself to her Poké Ball. Matt grimaced as he watched Lyra take out another Poké Ball, which was glowing with the same light that Ninjask had flashed, and threw it.

 

A Typhlosion burst out from the new Poké Ball and roared toward the ceiling.

 

“I knew as soon as I saw Ninjask you’d be setting up power-ups to throw onto another Pokémon… and now I know all three Pokémon on your team! Rocky, Thunder Punch!”

 

Using all the strength in his legs, Rocky sprang at Typhlosion and hit the Fire-type across the face with his sparking right fist. He then retreated back toward Matt in order to prevent Typhlosion from quickly counterattacking at close range.

 

“Well played, Matt!” Lyra took a sharp breath, and her body shuddered. “I love it when challengers put their brains into it! Give me an Eruption, Typhlosion!”

 

Typhlosion instantly straightened up, his muscles full of energy thanks to the Speed Boosts he’d been given by Ninjask. A ring of flame ignited around his neck, and a number of fireballs erupted from it. They flew high into the air before threatening to rain down on Rocky.

 

“And now I’m glad I took Speed Boost for myself. Rocky, go for it!”

 

After quickly nodding to acknowledge his trainer’s direction, Rocky shot off toward Typhlosion, his body turning into a blue blur due to his newfound speed. The fireballs descended around him, but he sidestepped every one, leaving each to strike the floor and explode uselessly. Both Lyra and the crowd murmured in surprise at the Hitmonchan’s skillful movements.

 

“Alright! Now use Drain Punch!”

 

Before Typhlosion could react, Rocky was upon him. When the uppercut Rocky aimed at Typhlosion’s jaw connected, the Fire-type was thrown up and back, ultimately falling backward.

 

Lyra bit her lip. “So it’s a close fight we’re going to have, I see. I can’t stop getting excited!” Tightening her fist, she called out, “Show him what you’ve got, Typhlosion! Wild Charge!”

 

Typhlosion rolled onto his stomach and charged at Rocky, his body becoming cloaked in electricity. Rocky had started to turn away, so Typhlosion’s sudden lashing out caught him by surprise. With Matt unable to react quickly enough, Rocky simply swung his fist and tried to catch Typhlosion.

 

When Rocky’s punch collided with Typhlosion’s head, the Fire-type’s trajectory was thrown off. He didn’t hit his opponent cleanly, and the two of them ended up being tangled up as they rolled toward Matt.

 

“Break away by using Thunder Punch on the floor!”

 

The thrust of Rocky’s punch combined with the burst of electricity pulled him from Typhlosion and pushed him several feet into the air. Typhlosion stumbled, but quickly recovered.

 

“Oh no you don’t!” Lyra exclaimed, pointing at Rocky. “You won’t get away from me that easily! Shadow Claw!”

 

“Meet it with Drain Punch!” Matt’s reaction was automatic. The continued chatter of the crowd was starting to leave his mind as he focused on the action before him, to the point where he was developing tunnel vision.

 

Rocky spun in midair and descended toward Typhlosion, meeting Lyra’s Pokémon’s Shadow Claw with his own glowing punch. They collided in a shower of sparks, and Rocky deftly backflipped away.

 

“Keep it up!” both Matt and Lyra ordered at the same time.

 

As soon as he landed, Rocky rushed right back into the fight. He bobbed and weaved around Typhlosion, trying to avoid the dark slashes aimed at him. At first, they exchanged an equal number of blows, and their bodies quickly accrued the physical signs of such.

 

The fight had become an impromptu boxing match, and as Rocky and Typhlosion sparred, the blue glow of the former’s Speed Boost steadily grew. Before long, Rocky was steadily outpacing Typhlosion and escaping his swings with little effort. At Matt’s table, Bunny and Monroe were enraptured with the unfolding duel, much like the crowds around them. Dante had even leaned forward on his cane to get a better look.

 

“This is exciting, but…” Lyra’s words were punctuated by heavy breathing, “...I think it’s about time I put you in your place! Typhlosion, Wild Charge!”

 

Matt smirked. “I knew you’d have to do something differently eventually. Thunder Punch!”

 

As soon as Typhlosion stopped and covered his body in electricity, Rocky charged in. The combination of the energy from the two Pokémon and their respective moves caused an explosion that violently threw them apart.

 

 _“Please work… If this doesn’t pan out, I’ve got nothing left up my sleeve…”_ The smoke started to lift, and the two Pokémon came into view. Both of them were still standing, though they were panting weakly. Matt’s thoughts instantly turned bitter when he saw this. _“Shit! Without this, I can’t…”_

 

He was cut off when Typhlosion’s legs gave out, dropping the Fire-type Pokémon to the floor. Lyra urged Typhlosion to get back up, and he tried, but there was just not enough strength left in his body. He collapsed, leaving Rocky standing battered but victorious over him.

 

Lyra gasped, but it was drowned out by the cheering from the crowd.

 

“Typhlosion is unable to battle!” the maid announced from mid-field. “Hitmonchan is the winner!”

 

“Well that’s one down,” Bunny sighed as she slumped over the table. “Ninjask and Azumarill to go.”

 

“I didn’t think he’d be able to pull it off…” Monroe said.

 

“Think about it, young man,” Dante explained, “during their fighting, Hitmonchan struck with Drain Punch several times. That gave it the stamina necessary to outlast its enemy.”

 

“You’re good…” Lyra said, continuing her heavy breathing as she recalled Typhlosion. “A lot of challengers get swept up in my Eruption once Typhlosion has the Speed Boosts… I see I’ll have to try something a little special with you. Ninjask, come back out and use Aerial Ace!”

 

Lyra’s Ninjask erupted from the Poké Ball she threw, and before she even had fully formed, she shot forward like a rocket.

 

“Ice Punch!”

 

Even with all his speed, Rocky couldn’t react fast enough to Ninjask’s assault. He barely had his arm pulled back before she collided with him, cutting him down in one swift movement.

 

“Hitmonchan is unable to battle! The winner is Ninjask!”

 

Matt took a deep breath, releasing what tension he could. He had hoped to take down a majority of Lyra’s team using Rocky’s attacks supplemented by Speed Boost, but he was able to relax slightly without having to worry any further about Rocky doing it alone. His nerves tightened again, however, when he saw the blue glow of Ninjask’s ability beginning to brighten once more.

 

“Oh, right, you still have it…” He held up Rocky’s Poké Ball and recalled the fallen Fighting-type, then threw another. “Charlotte, make your mark!”

 

When she appeared from the Poké Ball, Charlotte shook herself out as she floated. Her eyes eventually settled on Ninjask, and when they did, she let out a hiss.

 

“An Electric-type against one that’s partially Flying,” Monroe mused. “This might go a bit better.”

 

“But Ninjask’s getting powered up with Speed Boost again,” Bunny reminded him, waving her finger.

 

Matt shut his eye and pinched his nose, once again well aware of the threat he was facing. In an attempt to soothe his nerves, he tried to make small talk with Lyra. “I certainly get why you’re a Frontier Brain. Looks like you’re having a blast, too…”

 

“You bet I am…” Lyra’s words failed to fully convey how much excitement she really was feeling, but her posture made up for it. She had become slack, standing hunched over with her arms hanging limply at her sides. She was still breathing erratically as she spoke. “It’s not every day someone comes in here and shows off like this…”

 

“I...I…” Matt’s uncovered eye went wide with exasperation at Lyra’s actions. “...I’m not showing off. I’m just…”

 

“Shut up and keep going!” she snapped.

 

Matt sighed, then pointed forward. “Alright, then… Charlotte, Charge Beam!”

 

“Ninjask… Swords Dance!”

 

Swords Dance’s glowing swords of light surrounded Ninjask and started circling her. The ray of electricity that Charlotte fired broke through one of them, but the rest remained intact and flowed into Ninjask’s body. She shook herself off as the blue aura intensified, not hurt much by Charge Beam despite her weakness.

 

“Oh, shit…” Matt groaned. “I have to slow that thing down or I’ll never be able to stop it… Charlotte, use Thunder Wave!”

 

Lyra grabbed at her collar and cried out, “Protect!”

 

Matt gasped and stepped forward with his right leg, but there was nothing he could do to stop the scene unfolding before him. The shield of green light that Ninjask encased herself in absorbed the pulse Charlotte sent her way, nullifying its effect completely, and Ninjask’s aura got brighter the moment the shield went down.

 

“Oh, yes, Ninjask, that’s exactly what I wanted!” Lyra shrieked, briefly spinning around on her heel. “Come on back now! Baton Pass!”

 

Lyra held up Ninjask’s Poké Ball, and after flashing brightly, the Bug-and-Flying-type Pokémon returned to it. She then spun around and threw her last remaining Poké Ball, finally releasing her Azumarill.

 

“And there it is…” Matt said out loud to himself. “Powered up with Swords Dance and Speed Boost… the one thing I can do is slow it down! Thunder Wave!”

 

“Go on, my darling,” Lyra ordered with a wink, “show that thing a taste of your Superpower! Go full throttle!”

 

Charlotte released another electric pulse, but Azumarill simply charged right into it. The electricity brought paralysis onto her, however, she kept charging forward. Once Azumarill got within reach of Charlotte, she struck the Electric-type with a double punch that sent its helpless victim crashing into a wall several feet away.

 

“What? How?!”

 

“Huge Power,” Lyra explained as Charlotte fell, wide-eyed, out of the wall. “Azumarill’s Ability. Surely you didn’t forget it has one, right?”

 

“That’s right…” Matt weakly answered, going slack-jawed as he spoke. “An Ability that…”

 

“It takes the power I came in with and dials it up all the way to twelve!” Lyra interrupted. “So what do you think? Behind the facade of this cutie lies the true terror of the Cafe Diva!”

 

“Eelektrik is unable to battle!” the refereeing maid finally announced. “The winner is Azumarill!”

 

“She’s bloodthirsty…” Bunny said, her own mouth hanging open.

 

“Bloodthirsty?” Dante scoffed. “More like totally bloody insane. Do you see the physical arousal she’s getting from this?” Lowering his head, he mumbled to himself, “Bloody disgusting, this show of hers. And young people look up to Frontier Brains…”

 

Once again, Matt found himself shaking. Having recalled Charlotte, he now held his last Poké Ball, but felt so weak that he feared he’d drop it.

 

“I… I have to do this…” he stuttered to himself. “I just have to get through Azumarill. Then I bet I can stop Ninjask when I have it alone…”

 

“Aw, what’s the matter?” Lyra taunted, leaning forward menacingly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to wimp out now. You brought me this far, seal the deal.”

 

“If you say so…” Matt felt unsteady on his feet, so he spread them apart to balance himself before limply tossing the Poké Ball. “Cordelia, make your mark!”

 

“And so now I get to meet the Sigilyph that’s been running up the ranks here,” Lyra said. “It feels right, the final climax being this and all. You know?”

 

“I...I guess?” Matt took a step back. _“She’s too… erratic? I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s impossible to get a stable read on her. She could do anything.”_ Raising his arm into the air, he called, “Energy Ball!”

 

While she wasn’t immobilized, the paralysis slowed Azumarill enough that she couldn’t simply run away from the Energy Ball as she wished. She got out of its direct path, but it clipped her on the side, causing her to stumble.

 

“Looks like I better finish up myself if you aren’t able.” Lyra’s face flushed as she issued her next command. “It’s the most thrilling point yet, so let’s throw everything on the table! Azumarill, Belly Drum!”

 

Regaining her composure, Azumarill began striking her stomach with her arms in a rhythmic fashion. A bright red glow enveloped her, and her expression only grew more intense with each passing second.

 

“He better have something up his sleeve right now to stop that thing…” Bunny said out loud to Monroe and Dante.

 

 _“Maximized attack power… plus the boost of Huge Power…”_ Matt’s arms hung at his sides as he let the reality of his situation sink in. “Cordelia, we have to win this right now or never. Energy Ball!”

 

“I won’t let you!!” Lyra beamed. “Azumarill, claim victory! Aqua Jet!”

 

Cordelia started to form another orb of green energy, but she never had the time to finish. Azumarill, in full defiance of her paralysis, surrounded herself with water and shot like a rocket at Cordelia. When they collided, Cordelia was violently thrown back at an upward angle, eventually crashing into the rafters. She went limp as she fell to the floor, where she rolled over to reveal a huge bruise directly on the center of her body.

 

“No way…” Matt gasped, watching Cordelia in shock while Lyra let out an ecstatic groan.

 

“Sigilyph is unable to battle!” The maid had to scream to be heard over the roar of the crowd. “The winner is Azumarill, and victory goes to the Cafe Diva, Lyra!”

 

“That’s it then…” Matt mumbled to himself, barely able to hear his own words thanks to the audience’s continued reaction. He stood still and stared into space for a long moment before turning and walking deliberately to where Cordelia had fallen. Leaning down to her as she awoke, he smiled as well as he could and said, “You gave a hell of a show out there today. Everyone did. Remind me to treat you all tonight, you guys earned it.”

 

Cordelia responded with a weak chirp, and Matt recalled her to her Poké Ball. As he stood back up, he could hear Lyra clapping as she approached him from behind.

 

“That… that was fun, all things considered!”

 

Slowly turning to face her, Matt replied, “I thought you’d say that. So much for finding out about Reshiram, I guess.”

 

“Oh, I’ll still talk to you,” Lyra cheerfully said. “You just gotta give me time to finish up my battles for the day.”

 

-:-

 

“Krabby, give me a Bubble Beam!”

 

“Edgar, Blizzard!”

 

A brisk breeze blew over the National Park as Olivia and Nekou continued their training, rustling the grass and leaves around them. From her vantage point, the Mareep watched them, as she had been doing the entire time. As she observed the attacks used by the Krabby and Duskull cancel each other out, she smirked to herself.

 

Seeing that Bubble Beam hadn’t been effective, Olivia started to give another direction to Krabby. However, Nekou cut her off.

 

“That’s enough for today,” she said, stretching her neck. “”I’m starving, and I’m sure you must be too.”

 

“You know…” A sudden growl from her stomach made Olivia realize just how hungry she really was. The training had completely distracted her. “That’s a good idea,” she replied with a weak laugh.

 

With an agreement reached, Nekou and Olivia sent all of their Pokémon back to their Poké Balls with the exception of Marie, who climbed up on Nekou’s back and hid under her hair.

 

“I wonder how Matt is doing at his challenge,” Nekou said once Olivia had started walking next to her. She winked and asked, “Think he fucked it up yet?”

 

“Who knows. Maybe he’s got a shot, if he keeps going like he went against me…”

 

Immediately picking up on the tone of Olivia’s voice, Nekou questioned, “Are you alright? Is something wrong?”

 

Olivia did not answer right away, and there was a short, tense silence between them. “I just… I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. What is the point of all of this?”

 

“You said you wanted to fuck up Polaris, didn’t you?”

 

“Yeah, but…” After a brief hesitation, Olivia said, “I don’t really feel like I know why I’m doing it. I mean, I know I said I wanted to do it because my dad would have, but… knowing he’s gone now, something about that just feels so pointless. Who am I really trying to impress? A dead guy? What’s the point…”

 

As they walked, Nekou set her hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “This might be tough for you to think about right now, but what I’ll tell you is that you have to live for yourself and nobody else. You’re the only one who can truly give yourself what you need.”

 

“I… I guess you’re right.” A small smile crept onto Olivia’s face. “Nekou, when we get to Ecruteak City, would you do something for me?”

 

“Sure, what?”

 

“Buy me a Pokégear. I have something I want to do…”

 

-:-

 

In the woods on the Ecruteak outskirts, Jessie, James and Meowth stood rigidly before a projection of Giovanni generated by the R-Pad. Wobbuffet, Vivillon and Inkay were nearby.

 

“Boss, sir, we’ve confirmed Ghetsis’s location,” Jessie reported.

 

“He’s holed up in the gateway shrine leading to the Bell Tower,” James added.

 

“Hm, I see…” Giovanni shut his eyes and took a breath. “I am on my way to Ecruteak right now with everyone but Rosalie. Stand by until we arrive. I fear we must consider it a certainty that Ghetsis’s true ambition is the Bell Tower.”

 

“Wait, Boss, don’t go yet!” Meowth blurted out before the transmission ended. “We got you another Pokémon for the army we’re gonna use to knock Polaris off!”

 

“What?”

 

“Jessie, show him!”

 

At Meowth’s urging, Jessie took the Poké Ball off her belt and released the Goomy. He simply sat still once he appeared, not even making a sound.

 

“It’s a Goomy,” James explained. “We found it on our way here.”

 

“Goomy’s a Dragon-type Pokémon from Kalos,” Ada could be heard saying in the background, her words punctuated by the sound of her typing. “Evolves twice, into Sliggoo and Goodra.”

 

“I see. What is it capable of?”

 

“It knows Body Slam, Sludge Bomb, Flail, and…” Jessie hesitated, recalling how violently they had been attacked. “...Draco Meteor.”

 

“Goo…” The Pokémon began to slowly turn around. He glared dramatically at Jessie and James before launching himself toward Meowth and biting onto his head. “Goomy!”

 

“Aah!” Meowth screamed, clawing at his head as he ran off. “Go goom off somewhere else, you!”

 

In the projection, Giovanni scowled. “Do you have this under control?” he growled.

 

“Uh, yes, of course!” Jessie floundered. She used the Poké Ball to call Goomy back off of Meowth’s head. While he stumbled to the ground and rubbed his head, she continued, “We’re just socializing Goomy, that’s all!”

 

“Yeah, you can count on us, Giovanni, sir!” James hastily added.

 

“Don’t screw it up!”

 

With that last warning from Giovanni, the transmission cut out. James and Jessie both sighed as they turned to each other.

 

“You know, Jessie, we do have to do something if that Goomy won’t listen to us. We can’t rely on Wobbuffet forever.”

 

“Tell me something I don’t know. I shouldn’t have had to put Wobbuffet against a wild Pokémon in the first place!”

 

“Hey!” Meowth shouted. “Did you two forget that I just got bit by that little slimeball?”

-:-

 

Giovanni leaned back in his chair in the car once the conversation was over.

 

_“Sometimes I still wonder about promoting those three…”_

 

Another holographic screen suddenly appeared. Rosalie was on the other end of this one, and her face was blank.

 

“Giovanni, is Ariana there?” she asked.

 

“I’m right here,” Ariana spoke up.

 

Rosalie took a deep breath, then swallowed. “I’ve got something I need to tell you, and I don’t know how…”

 

-:-

 

Hours later, the setting sun cast a warm, orange glow over the National Park and the Battle Cafe. The dining areas were bathed in the light shining through their floor-to-ceiling windows.

 

Matt’s table had become much more crowded over that time. Besides Nekou and Olivia returning from training, Nando and Lyra had also joined them. Over their dinner, they had been discussing the events of the day.

 

“It is unfortunate that you did not manage to defeat the Cafe Diva,” Nando said after hearing of the rest of Matt’s challenge. “However, I did accomplish the deed. We should battle again someday to learn which of us is really stronger.”

 

“I’d be up for that,” Matt replied. “It was exhilarating fighting you.”

 

“And Miss Olivia, I hear that you and Matt actually did battle, and you managed to defeat one of his Pokémon.”

 

“That’s right!” Olivia beamed. “I didn’t manage to get far, but it’s a step, right?”

 

“Indeed it is. I look forward to the day when we can battle each other as equals ourselves.”

 

“You better get ready for her to wreck your shit!” Nekou laughed between sips of beer.

 

Nando simply reacted with a smile, as did Bunny. Monroe remained silent, and Dante grimaced.

 

Lyra took one of the small, square hamburgers off her plate and tossed it to her Typhlosion, who was eating from a bowl of Pokémon food next to the table. She then said, “So, Matt, what exactly is your deal with Reshiram?”

 

“Well…” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m looking for Reshiram because I know of the legends surrounding it. They say that Reshiram’s flames burn to reveal the truth, and there are some truths I must know. I’ve spoken to Dante before about it, and he’s told me I’ve got to locate the Light Stone that will lead me to Reshiram by putting an overwhelming amount of effort into finding the truth.”

 

“Is that true?” Lyra asked. Her question was followed by a loud sip from the strawberry milkshake she was drinking.

 

“It is,” Dante answered.

 

“Then I hate to say it, Matt, but you’re out of luck. I don’t know anything.” When she saw Matt slump in his chair, she quickly added, “Don’t worry though! You’re going to the Battle Hall, right? Talk to the Hall Matron, the Frontier Brain of that place. Kate has been all over the world to perform, so she knows way more than I do.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Hey, bard boy.” Nekou sat with her arms crossed, recalling a conversation she’d had with Giovanni earlier in the day. He had contacted her from Olivine City before she had left Goldenrod City with Matt.  “You know all about legends, right? Can you tell me about something called the Oberon?”

 

Nando turned his head to her and saw that Bunny, Monroe and Olivia were also staring at him in interest. Dante, Matt and Lyra also fixed their attention on the conversation, especially Dante. He played a brief chord on his harp, then began speaking.

 

“I know but a little. The Oberon is a part of the tale of the Tenganist king AZ, ruler of the Kalos region of three thousand years ago. They say that it was a great treasure he possessed that was passed down to humans from Arceus itself. Furthermore, it is said that the Oberon granted AZ power over a type of Pokémon that is unlike nothing that exists today. His most beloved partner was one of these Pokémon, a Pokémon said to be from the realm of fairies. That is why, in the performance describing this tale, he is described as Oberon, the king of the fairies, while Titania, his queen, is representative of AZ’s beloved Pokémon.”

 

“A Pokémon like a fairy…” Olivia said in wonder. “Like Clefairy? I don’t understand.”

 

“But what exactly is the treasure called the Oberon?” Nekou questioned.

 

“Unfortunately, I do not know of its true identity. However, I can guide you to someone who does. The famous Kimono Girls of Ecruteak City are very traditional Tenganist practitioners. They will be able to tell you the entire story.”

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, Pierce stood before Stacia in Team Rocket’s secret headquarters, having delivered the crate of Pokémon. Giovanni’s assistant was stone-faced as she analyzed the contents of the container using a holographic tablet.

 

“All the Pokémon that were reported to me have been confirmed,” she said once she was done. When Pierce reached down and collected several Poké Balls, she coldly warned, “Do not disobey Giovanni. Do you have authorization to take some of these Pokémon?”

 

“They’re for our army to defeat Polaris and take over the world. Naturally, I should put them to use for that purpose in Ecruteak City.” Pierce turned and started to walk away, but he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “What is coming is unlike anything Team Rocket has ever faced before. The danger is very real. Whatever happens, promise me you will continue to survive.”

 

Though her facade didn’t break,  Stacia was dumbfounded at Pierce’s strange words. She could only stare at him as he left.

 

-:-

 

“Happy birthday, Olivia!”

 

“Blow out the candles and make a wish!”

 

Later that night in their room in Ecruteak City’s Pokémon Center, Olivia was sitting in the dark watching the old videos sent by Anabel. She clutched the blanket she had wrapped herself in, recalling the exact birthday party she was now watching once again. It had been her sixth, the last full year of peace she had living with her parents in their cottage.

 

After some time of seeing herself opening presents and celebrating, she had to close her eyes. A tear rolled down her face as her mind filled with both the images and voices of Rich and Anabel, as they were back in those happy times.

 

_“I’m so proud of you, Olivia! Polaris collapsed because of you!”_

 

“But I didn’t beat them alone, Dad,” she said aloud to the voices in her head. “Matt and Nekou and Bunny all helped me. A lot of people did.”

 

_“It doesn’t matter, your father’s right. Your resolve to see it through is exactly what brought them down.”_

 

“Does this mean I’m like you now?”

 

_“You’re better than us. We’ve both made a lifetime’s worth of mistakes. You still have your entire life ahead of you. But for now, let’s go home.”_

 

“Mom, Dad, thank you…”

 

Though Olivia was unaware, Matt was watching her converse with thin air from a doorway on the other side of the room.

 

“Is she alright?” Nekou asked him, suddenly appearing at his side.

 

“She’s hallucinating… or imagining, or something. She’s been sitting there talking to Rich and Anabel like they’re right here.”

 

“Should we do something?”

 

Matt put up his arm to stop Nekou from going into the room. “Not yet. I don’t think we should interrupt her right now. She might not be totally okay, but she needs to get out of her own head herself… When she wants to talk to you, go ahead.”

 

“Why don’t you think she’ll talk to you?”

 

Matt smiled, though his face thinly masked his sadness. “You get her in ways I’ve never been able to. I’m just a teacher to her, an authority figure. You were her first real friend and you were the only one she could go to after finding out Rich was gone.”

 

“I…” Nekou drew a short, sharp breath. “No way. There is no way I’m her first real friend.”

 

“I guess it’s not literally true, but in a sense, it kind of is. Rich and Anabel sheltered her and she had everything she needed through them, and I ended up being a fool and continuing that. Everyone she interacted with was through one filter or another. You didn’t know her or any of us, so I think she sees your friendship as genuine. I’d even go as far as to say she sees you as more of a big sister than a friend.”

 

An overwhelming wave of emotion washed over Nekou, and she had to run her hand down her face to fight it back. “Then… in that case, she might be my…”

 

“You know, it’s kind of funny,” Matt continued, having not heard her speaking. “In spite of everything I think I’d say you’re the glue that holds us all together. I would probably be dragging myself halfheartedly through this right now if you weren’t forcing me to step it up.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Nekou’s eyes were going wide. She wasn’t used to the kind of openness Matt was showing, and it left her on edge.

 

“Think about it,” he wistfully said, avoiding her gaze with his glistening eye. “I probably would have folded in Ilex Forest if I confronted Cassy alone. I’ve been spending years trying to forget her. Knowing you were there backing me up, that made me feel less afraid to confront her.”

 

 _“No way…”_ Nekou thought.

 

“And in Goldenrod, when I got stuck on that train. I never could have stopped it alone, and quite frankly, I don’t know if I even would have tried. Having you telling me not to give up and let myself die actually made me not want to.”

 

_“No fucking way…”_

 

Not noticing Nekou take a step back, Matt kept talking. “I don’t get why, but you didn’t judge me for what I am, either. Someone who’s gotten a bunch of people killed and installed tons of robotics in his body instead of just letting himself die? You would have had every right to run like hell from me, but you didn’t. Just knowing that there’s someone who didn’t know me already who wasn’t afraid, that alone gives me strength sometimes.”

 

“And… you did the same thing after Union Cave. I almost… I almost killed you, and you didn’t act any differently around me. Like that shit in my head doesn’t even matter…”

 

“Why should it?” Matt said with a shrug. “I knew that wasn’t who you really are, and I’ve seen enough crazy shit in my life that something like that hardly affects me anymore. I know you saw yourself acting like a monster, but I saw someone who was terrified of the shell they’re trapped in. I might have fucked it up with how I should have approached Olivia, but I couldn’t turn my back on someone in your position.”

 

“Why are you telling me all of this?!” Nekou stammered.

 

“Look at her out there.” Matt gestured toward Olivia, who was still wrapped in her blankets. “She has no real family anymore, not with her father dead and her mother one step above catatonic. I feel like I sympathize with her… I never have had much of a real family either.”

 

“What about Amanda?”

 

“If I got too close to her I’d drag her down. Look at how well she’s done for herself largely on her own and away from me… Anyway, my point is, both of us, right now we have the closest thing to a family we can have, you know? Me, her, you and Bunny. It’s not perfect but it works.”

 

Nekou felt another wave of emotion hit her. _“In the end he’s just a sadsack piece of shit, just like I am… He really needed me, and I’ve been doing all of this… I’ve pretty much been doing it all to my own fucking self…”_

 

“I have to find out the truth,” Matt said, snapping her out of her daze. “There’s no way I can move on with my life until I finally put this to rest."

 

“Matt, I’ve got something to tell you. I’m…” The weight of what she was about to do hit Nekou, overriding her guilt and making her change her mind about admitting her identity. “...really worried about what Polaris is going to do next.”

 

“As we all are. We just can’t let them hurt anyone, but I have no idea what our next step is.”

  
  
  
  


**END of CHAPTER 17**

 

 


	18. Winter of Discontent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Polaris’s speech approaches, Matt attempts the Battle Hall and Olivia visits Ecruteak Gym. However, none expect what is coming…

And here we go, the long-awaited Ecruteak arc begins. Buckle up, the ride gets a little bumpy now.

 

Special thanks to JXValentine for the assistance she provided on the characterization of Bill, Audrey and Mako.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 18:** Winter of Discontent

 

-:-

 

Olivia went to bed after about an hour and a half of watching her old home videos, or that had been what she had told Matt and Bunny. In reality, she was hiding under the blankets of her bed in the fetal position, clutching the sky-blue Pokégear Nekou purchased for her when they arrived in Ecruteak.

 

A single photograph was on the phone’s screen, and she could not pull her eyes from it. She’d taken it as a keepsake. In it, she and Monroe were smiling and making peace signs directly into the camera, while Nekou was visible in the background pulling up her collar to avoid having her picture taken.

 

“What am I doing?” she mumbled to herself. “I can’t go back. There’s no going back… just remembering stuff that already happened means all the work I’ve put in to come this far was for nothing.” Olivia curled into an even tighter ball. “But then what am I supposed to do with myself? If I can’t feel good in what happened in the past, then what is there?”

 

Suddenly, a realization hit her, thanks to her continuing to stare at the photograph. She took a single sharp breath as the thought filled her mind, then let a small smile reach her face.

 

“That’s why I got you after all,” she said to the Pokégear. “The past is just parts of the future that already happened. I’ll make that future even better than what happened for me before, and I’ll keep every last bit of it. That’s what I’ll do.”

 

Satisfied with her plan, she shut off the phone. Its light faded into darkness, leaving her alone with her thoughts as she let herself drift off into sleep.

 

-:-

 

At the same time that Olivia was musing to herself, Nekou was similarly awake. Unlike Olivia, however, Nekou wasn’t keeping herself from sleeping. She was so overwhelmed by everything that had happened that she couldn’t rest.

 

“Aw, shit,” she swore, realizing that she’d drawn every last drop from the beer can in her hand. She flung it across the room, where it crashed into a pile with five other empty cans, then pulled another from under her sheets and opened it. “Of all the fucking nights I can’t just drink myself into oblivion…”

 

Nekou spent several minutes rocking back and forth on the edge of her bed, drinking the beer as she stared blankly at the wall. Her breathing grew increasingly shallow with time. Once the can ran empty, she threw it into the pile and threw herself back on the bed. She rolled around to tangle her hair around herself, ultimately settling on her back. Had someone walked in and seen the suggestive position she was in, she wouldn’t have even cared.

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck… why do you gotta make this shit so fucking hard?” The image of Matt admitting his demons to her earlier that night refused to leave her mind. Seeing him in such a way forced her to confront the thoughts underneath her sarcastic facade. Though she hated to admit it to herself, she pitied him and identified with him on top of her existing sympathies for Olivia. “This would be so much fucking easier if I didn’t have to see my own fucking face in you! There’s a reason I hate having my fucking picture taken…”

 

Nekou rolled over on her side and fumbled out yet another beer can, which she opened.

 

“Never get attached,” she recited to herself. “Never sympathize. All who are not Team Rocket are against Team Rocket. Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket. Raid on the city, knock out, evil tusks. All that shit they drive into you in training, right, Maman? And yet…”

 

A sudden shaking overtook her body as she opened her mouth to gasp for air. Her eyes widened as they sunk back into her head.

 

“Fuck… I don’t know what to do anymore. It used to always be so easy. Go in, steal what’s necessary, go in a closet with some fuck at a bar if you have to, get out and you win. I’m in too deep, I can’t get out of this. This job was too long. I can’t get out now. I know what I’m trained to do, and I know what I have to do… but I can’t bring myself to hurt them!” Nekou snapped the can across the room to join the others. “Fuck! No matter how I think about this, I have to fucking do something I don’t want to!”

 

 _“Sometimes it’s best to not think about what to do,”_ Ariana’s voice echoed in her head. _“Put aside all thoughts when you have to and do what you want to.”_

 

“Olivia doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of this shit, she’s just a kid… but… but I like her, for real. I have to help her. She never deserved any of this. And Matt…” Nekou bit her lip and arched herself upward slightly. “Don’t you think if I could, I would have already? I’m fucking compromised enough already, it’s not worth losing all I know just for the thrill of breaking some little scout’s morals!” As the rush subsided, Nekou started gasping for air again. “What the fuck is wrong with me… I’m actually scared of some little sadsack shithead like him?”

 

After several minutes of deep breathing, Nekou managed to stabilize herself.

 

“This is who you are,” she said to herself. “This is the life you know. Take whatever the fuck you want and make your life what you deserve. Now just figure out what exactly it is you want here.”

 

-:-

 

Though the next morning in Ecruteak City was a sunny one, the air carried a bitter chill. The Team Rocket members assembled in the nearby woods - Jessie, James, Meowth, Pierce, Ada, Trevor, Ariana, Petrel and Proton - all were forced to wear their coats to stand the cold. They stood rigidly at attention as Giovanni addressed them, fighting against showing even a slight shiver.

 

“I do not have to repeat again the importance of this mission,” the Team Rocket leader sternly explained to his followers with his arms crossed behind his back. “Operation Atlas must lead to the downfall of Polaris. Otherwise, the odds of Team Rocket’s continued survival will become zero, and there will be none left to stand against their plans of destruction.”

 

These words brought a somber wave over those they were directed at. Though the importance of their mission was something they were all aware of, the fact that the time was now at hand ate at their nerves. James couldn’t help himself from rocking back and forth slightly as he gripped his arm, while Jessie could feel her hands sweating under her gloves. Pierce remained stone-faced as he often did, but had his fists clenched so tightly his fingers were pressing into his palms. The only one not standing in some level of formality was Ariana, who seemed dazed.

 

“Now, I will give you your respective assignments for this stage of the mission. Jessie, James, Meowth, you three will be my personal bodyguards.” As soon as they heard this task, their eyes brightened. “I plan to enter the Battle Hall tournament as the Gym Leader of Viridian City to provide an alibi and misdirect from what we really plan to do. You three will be planted in the audience to observe the proceedings.”

 

“You got it, Boss!” Meowth beamed in response. “We’ll guard you so good not even air gets past!”

 

“Wouldn’t that be a little much?” James sarcastically said to Meowth.

 

“You know what I meant!”

 

“It’s like what we did at the Battle Arcade, but for the Boss,” Jessie realized before confidently adding, “We got this, no problem.”

 

Turning his head, Giovanni next directed, “Pierce, you, Proton and Petrel will go undercover to scout out Central Square, where Polaris’s speech will be held tomorrow. See if you can observe and document anything about their movements that may give us an advantage in the battle to come.”

 

“Sir!” all three of them exclaimed at once.

 

“And finally…” before finishing his statement, Giovanni walked over to stand directly in front of Ariana and stare right into her eyes. “...Ariana, you will stay here with Ada and Trevor to maintain a base of operations. Continue communications with Zager and Rosalie to gather intelligence from RChannel and our satellite.”

 

“Uh, Boss, a-about that…” Ada stuttered. She opened her mouth to say more, but no words came out. Instead, she keyed a command into her laptop, using it to create a holographic projection screen with Zager’s face on it a few inches away.

 

“Zager?” Giovanni wondered. “Why have you contacted us now?”

 

“You must listen to me,” Zager said, his voice filled with urgency. “I have conducted preliminary analysis on the drive retrieved from the Battle Factory. While I must investigate it more to understand what exactly they were doing, Polaris was exploiting the Battle Factory to accrue massive amounts of data on Pokémon battling. I’m not sure what they intend to use it for, but everything - every Pokémon generated, every move used, every battle fought - all of it was recorded and sent to their Adenosine Base for some purpose. And that Adenosine Base… I’ve figured out where it is.”

 

Zager waited to continue until he saw that all of the assembled Team Rocket members, including Giovanni, were looking at him.

 

“Based on data in the drive, combined with the likely track that the ship was taking, the Adenosine Base is the Altru Northstar oil rig in the Whirl Islands.”

 

“Are you serious?” Trevor gasped. “There’s no way that’s possible, right?”

 

“Someone want to explain what this means?” Jessie demanded.

 

“Based on this analysis of the ship’s course,” Ada started to explain, “Zager’s guess is likely right. Unless we don’t know something, the Altru Northstar is the only facility anywhere in that area that could host laboratories of the kind they’d need. It’s a massive oil drilling facility that was built over the Whirl Islands several years ago when a huge deposit was found there. The thing is, while the rig itself was designed by Altru Inc., in order to cut down on overhead costs, they avoided having to send staff all the way from Almia by partnering with the Angel Corporation in a profit-sharing deal. In other words, Altru built it, the Angel Corporation runs it.”

 

“Runs it?” Petrel said. “You mean it was still open?”

 

“It was… it was never closed.”

 

“Then Polaris may have infiltrated the Angel Corporation at the highest levels,” Giovanni decided, “if they’re operating a laboratory on that oil rig. We have to acknowledge the possibility that Polaris is much more well funded than we initially thought.”

 

“I’ll continue my work,” Zager said before the transmission ended.

 

“That must underline the urgency of our mission,” Giovanni told the others with his eyes closed. “We are facing an enemy that may have the power of one of the world’s largest corporations in their pocket. If that’s the case, we must consider that wherever we go, Polaris has eyes on us. Remember that they are not just a pharmaceutical company. They have their hands in literally every large industry on Earth. We must hit hard and fast. The only way to defeat a giant is to be too small for it to strike. Now, to your respective positions. This will be the most glorious time in Team Rocket history!”

 

“Hail Giovanni!” they all cried, snapping to attention.

 

-:-

 

“All our preparations are in place, Lady Finansielle.” Ghetsis’s fist shook as he looked up at Finansielle’s face on his screen. He loathed addressing her with respect, but he wasn’t going to risk his plans to act on his true opinion of her. “Tomorrow is the day. The fire of Polaris’s ambition will burn Ecruteak down before spreading to this entire nation!”

 

“The fire of our ambition or of yours?” Finansielle said, knowing she was taunting him. “Just kidding. What of Team Rocket and those trash terrorists?”

 

“I do not anticipate Team Rocket giving me much trouble. Even if they try to stage an attack even bigger than the one on Goldenrod, they’re dealing with me, not my useless henchmen. As for the Tenganists…” Ghetsis’s mouth twisted into a wicked smirk as his eye glittered in the light of the screen. “...I will take great delight in tearing them limb from limb and burning the survivors just as they burned their witches. Let them try their worst on me. I will relish the chance to destroy them all.”

 

Finansielle hesitated before she spoke again, but Ghetsis was too far into his violent fantasy to even notice. “Don’t screw it up,” she warned, before adding, “Of course, I don’t have to tell you that. I know you won’t.”

 

At that point, Finansielle disappeared from the screen. Finally free to release his anger, Ghetsis slammed his fist down on the armrest of the chair, then banged his cane against the floor repeatedly.

 

“Lord Ghetsis!” Darkness interrupted Ghetsis’s tantrum, appearing next to him. “Everything’s set. We are waiting for your order.”

 

“Excellent. Just one more day and I’ll finally get what’s mine…”

 

-:-

 

Shortly after her conversation with Ghetsis, Finansielle was conferencing with Colress via the video screen on the control panel of his airship.

 

“I just had some words with Ghetsis,” she said. “I don’t know if I can rely on him. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.”

 

“Don’t you worry, Lady Finansielle, I’ll keep him in line.” Colress smiled smugly and pushed up his visor. “Ghetsis is too big for his silly black britches. He only sees one outcome, complete domination in his own name. He fails to see the nobility of our work. Since he considers Pokémon to be nothing but his tools, he doesn’t realize what we can really accomplish by drawing out their true strength.”

 

“Remember your role, Colress. You’re going there to observe and document everything that happens.”

 

“And I’ll be there in just a few minutes to do exactly that. I’ll be sure to gather up some fantastic battle data while I’m at it.”

 

-:-

 

The Prophet was standing outside the entrance to the Sinjoh Ruins cave, her robes and the coat underneath shielding her from the cold. She was with one of her followers, a young woman who wore a robe that matched her flowing, silvery hair.

 

“You’re doing well,” the Prophet told her, setting a hand on her shoulder as she remained locked in her Transcendence prayer. “Your power is important to what we’re going to do. Tell me what kind of weather we’ll be expecting for the operation.”

 

“I… I see cold, I’m sure of that. Cold and… clear… it should be clear…”

 

The young woman could sustain her focus no longer and collapsed into her leader’s arms. The Prophet gently stroked her head.

 

“That’s good. It’s more than enough. Go rest up before we have to go.”

 

Jacob appeared in the entrance to the cave just as the follower entered. He looked back at her in confusion, then turned back to the Prophet.

 

“What was all that about?” he asked, shivering. “Who is she?”

 

“Her name is Sylpha. She’s one of the newest Tenganists I’ve taken into my protection…” The Prophet looked away from Jacob, unwilling to let him see the shame in her face. “Her village was one of the last Ghetsis destroyed. She’s just a kid, she doesn’t deserve to be caught up in all this…”

 

“What were you doing out here, though?”

 

“Sylpha’s Transcendence, we call it ‘The Forecaster.’ She can see upcoming weather patterns, but because she only recently developed her powers, she can’t see beyond a day or two at the most into the future. I needed to know what kind of weather is going to be in Ecruteak City tomorrow, because war is coming between us and Polaris.”

 

“Is there any way I can…”

 

“No,” the Prophet cut him off. “You can’t stop me from going through with this. Ghetsis and all of Polaris will pay their price for what they did to me… to us.”

 

“Then let me come along!” Jacob begged.

 

“Even if I was willing to do that, which I’m not, why would you even want to catch yourself up in all this? You will have to return to prison when this is over to continue serving your time for the murders you committed, yet you’re willing to make it worse by joining our terrorist war against Polaris?”

 

“Look at me,” Jacob said, spreading his arms to allow his ragged clothing to drape on his thin body. “I’m an old man. I haven’t got long left anyway. I’ve lived the past sixty years in shame for surviving what happened that day Saeko Oryo swallowed the stone… it should have been Sutter and I, not all those innocent people who died that day. We’re the ones who caused everything that happened… it’s only right that I do what I can to atone to your people for our actions.”

 

The Prophet stood as still as a statue for several long moments. When she finally moved, she grabbed Jacob by the arm.

 

“You listen to me,” she snapped. She reconsidered her tone, however, and softened her voice to say, “Jacob, listen to me. What happened all those years ago was nobody’s fault but the witch Saeko Oryo’s. She’s the one who carried out the sin of misusing the Jewel of Life… You were just archeologists looking for mythology. You were innocent.”

 

Suddenly, the Prophet giggled softly to herself, leaving Jacob confused.

 

“What was that? I’ve never seen you…”

 

“I was just thinking about how you really are more like Sutter’s grandson more than I ever thought. Pay me no mind. Did you send Xatu to Bunny?”

 

“Some time ago.”

 

When the Prophet looked down from Jacob’s face, a realization hit her. “Where are the warmer clothes I left you? Why aren’t you wearing them?”

 

“I looked for them, but they were gone…”

 

Jacob’s response drew a tired grin from the Prophet. “Oh, that. That’s the work of a Pokémon that lives here with us. Its powers allow us to hide this place from Polaris, but it likes to play pranks and steal things too. I’ll do something, don’t worry.”

 

“What kind of Pokémon is that?”

 

“One I bet you’ve never seen before. I’ll introduce you.”

 

-:-

 

“So how have your Pokémon been doing?” Amanda’s Zoroark appeared in the corner of the videophone screen and rubbed against her leg, prompting her to begin petting the Dark-type.

Disturbed by the noise of the busy Pokémon Center lobby behind him, Matt leaned closer to the screen. “They’re well, I just felt like having you send over a few changes. How’s everything on your end?”

 

“I’ve been making a lot of progress with that Boldore of yours.”

 

“Boldore? What’s that?”

 

Catching her mistake, Amanda giggled. “Manticore, that Roggenrola you sent me that you said was misbehaving? I’ve been making some good progress with it, and it even evolved into Boldore. That means it got stronger, you know? Oh, and I did some research and found that Boldore can evolve again, into Gigalith. Maybe by the time I send it back to you, it’ll have evolved again.”

 

“I’d be happy if you did that,” Matt said, reflexively smiling even though he knew Amanda couldn’t see him. “How is Anabel, while I’m talking to you?”

 

“She’s…” Amanda’s already cloudy expression became even more dim. “She’s the same as always. I do what I can to take care of her, but I can’t be a replacement for what she wants.”

 

Matt clasped his hands together and leaned forward into them, but did not say anything.

 

“Anyway, big brother, I’ve got some classwork to prepare. Have fun at the Battle Hall and give Olivia my best, alright? Oh, before I go, I caught a new Pokémon for you. When you get to Olivine, I’ll let you have it. See you.”

 

Amanda hung up the phone on her end of the discussion, causing the video stream to cut off. Matt slouched against the back of his chair, then stood, picked up his bag and began walking toward the other end of the lobby. Olivia, Nekou, Bunny, Monroe and Dante were there, sitting at a table where they were clustered around a television screen.

 

“Olivia, did you finish setting up your Gym battle?” Matt asked.

 

“Yeah!” she sharply replied, bringing her finger to her lips before gesturing to the screen.

 

Following Olivia’s guidance, Matt set his eye upon the news broadcast the others were watching. A female reporter was addressing her viewers with a microphone in her hand. Rust-colored trees formed a backdrop for her.

 

_“We’re here live in Ecruteak City’s Central Square, where the spokesman for the Polaris organization is set to give a speech tomorrow. Now, this is quite a widely anticipated event. Interest in Polaris has increased dramatically in the days following their speech in Goldenrod City, which ended with interference from Team Rocket. The public wants to know the truth behind how Polaris’s cause can bring change to Johto, and we’ll be there on the front lines as that truth comes out. Right now we’ve got a supporter of Polaris here who has agreed to speak to us…”_

 

The camera pulled back, allowing a spiky-haired, thick-eyebrowed young man into view alongside the reporter. He was dressed in thick clothing including a heavy coat and boots, all colored in various earthy tones.

 

As soon as she saw him, Nekou scowled. None of the others noticed her, as they were too invested in paying attention to the broadcast.

 

_“What is your name, and where are you from?”_

 

 _“I’m Dino, and I’m from Castelia City,”_ the young man replied, putting his gloved hands in his coat pockets.

 

_“Can you tell us about why you support Polaris?”_

 

_“Because they’re looking out for the little guys like me out there. Believe me, when the only shot you have in life is becoming a trainer, but you have to live from battle to battle, that’s an unlivable situation. You just can’t survive when you have to decide whether to spend the lousy pocket change you can get from a couple of battles on food or on Poké Balls so you can win more.”_

 

_“Have you been in that situation before? Is that why you support them?”_

 

_“Yes and yes. I had a very difficult life in my hometown. I finally managed to pull myself out and gain some success, but I never could forget how it was growing up, you know? Eventually I learned of Polaris and I came to understand that their cause is something that could have given me a hand up when I needed it. I support them because nobody should have to live the childhood I did.”_

 

 _“Dino, was it? Thank you for your time.”_ The reporter shook Dino’s hand, then he disappeared from view as she turned back to face the camera directly. _“As you can see, Polaris’s ideals have garnered some very real interest, and tomorrow we will learn fully about their goals.”_

 

“We don’t need to hear the speech,” Nekou grumbled to herself. “We already know what Polaris is about…”

 

“I suggest we get our business done and get out of this city right away,” Bunny commented.

 

Dante tightened his grip on the handle of his cane, slowly turned to the others, and said, “Perhaps it is for the better that you are here right now. Whatever Ghetsis is planning, it is not good. You were the ones who defeated Polaris in Goldenrod City. If anyone can prevent Ghetsis’s treachery, it’s you.”

 

“Treachery?”

 

“When Ghetsis was the leader of Team Plasma, he even betrayed his own men,” Nekou explained in response to Olivia’s question. “He portrayed himself as a wise, kindhearted sage serving their king. In reality, he was manipulating the so-called king for his own interests, and intended to dispose of his entire team save for a few trusted loyalists once he had come to power. His endgame? He wanted to use the mythology of Unova to convince all people to release their Pokémon using the cause of Pokémon liberation, but his true goal was to make himself the only one with any Pokémon and thus the unopposed ruler of the world. Loyalty doesn’t mean shit to him. For all we know, he could be planning to turn on Polaris to do it all again.”

 

“I don’t understand why they trust him,” Dante added. “Perhaps they are using him? Regardless, he is a threat, and I cannot think of anyone better to oppose him than you lot. Like I said at the Battle Cafe, I am convinced of your strength now.”

 

“A-Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Monroe nervously questioned. “He’s pretty scary…”

 

“And Nekou can be pretty scary too,” Olivia said. “We’ll be fine.”

 

 _“I’d at least try too, you know…”_ thought Matt, his lip curling slightly.

 

“But what about you?” Bunny asked of Dante.

 

“I have work to do here in this Pokémon Center. Gabriella’s got me looking into a potential formula for a new medicine she’s funding. If it pays off, we could be looking at dramatic process fighting some very real diseases.”

 

“Good luck with that, it’s important work.” Matt took out and opened his pocketwatch, then looked to the rest of his group. “We have to get going if we’re going to visit the Dance Theater before we split up.”

 

Following Matt’s direction, Olivia, Monroe, Bunny and Nekou stood and left the table. Dante also followed them, however, much to their surprise.

 

“I thought you were working here today?”

 

“Not right this moment, my dear Olivia.” A wide grin formed through Dante’s beard. “I’m waiting for a very important package to arrive. I can’t begin my work without it.”

 

The group of six headed for the exit of the Pokémon Center, finding themselves in agreement on what they would do. When the glass doors slid open in front of them, a gust of cool air blew through, making Matt and Monroe shiver.

 

“Oh, right,” Matt mumbled, his body creaking from the cold. “It’s the first day of winter today. I knew I sewed this coat up for a reason…”

 

A loud snarl suddenly caught their ears, causing the group to freeze just outside the Pokémon Center. It belonged to an Absol that was charging straight toward them, seemingly fixed on causing a collision.

 

“Watch out!” Bunny cried.

 

While Bunny and Matt jumped aside, Nekou and Dante both stepped back toward the doors. Monroe attempted to push Olivia out of the way, but despite his efforts, the Absol seemed to alter its course, now targeting Olivia specifically.

 

“Olivia!” This time, the cry was made from the collected voices of Matt, Nekou and Bunny.

 

Despite their shock, however, they were powerless to stop the attack. The Absol violently collided with Olivia, and she screamed as she fell backwards with a wide gash on her leg.

 

“Absol…” the Dark-type Pokémon growled, briefly stopping to turn back and look at its victim. Its horn was stained with blood, which dripped down onto its shaggy white fur.

 

“You fucker!” Nekou screamed at it.

 

The Absol simply ignored her, however, and ran off. Seeing no point in giving chase, Matt instead hurried to Olivia’s side and leaned down.

 

“I’ve got bandages in my bag. Are you going to be alright?”

 

“I…” Olivia was shaking, but she fought to compose herself. “Screw it, I don’t care. Just cover that.”

 

-:-

 

Ariana was slouched in the back of Team Rocket’s car, sipping coffee and eating doughnuts, while Ada worked on her laptop under Trevor’s observation.

 

“That kid on the broadcast,” Trevor said, “I know him. He’s a known associate of Team Plasma.”

 

“I don’t have a feed here. Who is it?”

 

In response to Zager’s question, Ada keyed in a command that made several data windows including a photograph appear on her screen.

 

“H-his name is Dino,” she said.

 

“Oh, hell, are you serious?” Zager choked. “I didn’t anticipate them bringing in actual troops.”

 

“Want to cut me in on what you’re talking about?” Ariana interrupted.

 

“This kid was a member of Team Plasma back in the old days of the war in Unova,” Trevor explained. “He was a typical Castelia street rat, grew up poor and was in and out of the clink for petty crimes. Most of the time I’d pity someone like that, but when he was looking at a three year bid for one too many burglary charges, Ghetsis sprang him and enlisted him into Team Plasma.”

 

“H-He fit the profile,” Ada stammered, furthering the story. “Ghetsis was looking for recruits susceptible to his ideology. Young, poor and angry at the world… he was an ideal soldier for the cause. Ghetsis fixed him up and set him off on the Unova League path as an undercover agent, and he even made the semifinals of the Vertress Conference.”

 

“In other words,” Rosalie piped up from her own window, “not a guy we want to mess with. If Ghetsis is gathering what remains of his loyal following from back then, he’s not just planning a speech. He’s planning a revolution in the streets of Ecruteak, probably not just against us but against Polaris too.”

 

-:-

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ghetsis fumed, slamming his cane on the floor as he looked up at the news broadcast with Dino’s image. “They sent him? That’s the trainer Athleta decided to send?”

 

“Lord Ghetsis…” Darkness quietly said, standing near Ghetsis’s chair with his brothers flanking him.

 

“This is a direct challenge to my authority!” Ghetsis didn’t even hear his follower addressing him beneath his shouting. “Taking a former adherent of Team Plasma, filling his head with all that trash Father teaches and turning him against me? I will not stand for this!”

 

“You don’t have to, Lord Ghetsis.” This time, Darkness’s voice was louder and more assertive. “Shall we take him out?”

 

Breathing deeply, Ghetsis gripped his cane so tightly it nearly cracked in his hand. “No. No, not yet. Let him live for today. It will send a message to watch him be caught up in my flames tomorrow.”

 

“Of course, Lord Ghetsis.”

 

-:-

 

The Dance Hall, situated just north of the Pokémon Center, was a building constructed in the style of a bygone era. Elegant paper lanterns hung outside, while lamps lit the interior with a warm, golden glow.

 

An audience of several people was sitting on cushions in front of a wooden stage. On the stage, five young women dressed in kimonos of varying colors observed as two similarly-clothed trainers faced off. Avril was one of them, and the other had thick, brown pigtails.

 

“Staryu, Flash Cannon!” Avril called out to the starfish Pokémon standing before her.

 

“Eevee, please use Quick Attack!” her opponent countered.

 

The Eevee began dashing toward Staryu, weaving back and forth to avoid the bursts of light it shot at him. Before he could collide with his target, however, Staryu managed to catch him and knock him back.

 

“Alright, Staryu, bring that Eevee down! You know what to do!”

 

With Eevee close in its sights, Staryu had a perfect vantage point for its attack. It needed no further prompting from its trainer to know what to do. Eevee was engulfed by the stream of bubbles Staryu sent out; they harshly battered his body as they pushed him back, and when the assault finally ended, he let out a soft, weak cry before collapsing.

 

“This battle has concluded,” the sister in the blue kimono calmly announced. “The challenger Avril has defeated our apprentice Furisode Girl.”

 

“We did it, Staryu!” Avril cheered. She allowed her Pokémon to leap into her arms, where it happily chattered back at her. “Scratch this stop off the list. I can’t wait to…” When Avril turned her head to the spectators, she saw Olivia watching with Monroe and the others save for Dante. “Well, speak of the devil.”

 

While the Eevee trainer she’d just beaten left the stage, Avril jumped down to confront Olivia. As soon as the two girls locked eyes, their faces twisted into nearly identical scowls.

 

“Look what the Meowth dragged in,” Avril taunted. “Sitting at the big kids’ lunch table yet?”

 

“Yu!” Staryu sharply added, wriggling around in Avril’s arms as if it was laughing.

 

“Oh, stuff it,” Olivia replied. “I have two Badges now, so take that attitude and…”

 

“Just two?” Avril couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I have four! Violet, Azalea, Goldenrod, Ecruteak… all of them!”

 

As Olivia shrank back, embarrassed by the way her cockiness had backfired, Monroe took a step forward.

 

“C-come on, Avril,” he stuttered. “Let’s not take this too far…”

 

“I’m just teasing your girlfriend here.” Avril put her hands on her hips and smirked as both her brother and Olivia flushed. After a moment, she turned back to Olivia. “All that aside, I owe you an apology, you. I didn’t mean to do what I did at the Gym with your dad.”

 

Olivia slouched and her lip began quivering, but she forced a brave face. “Whatever. I believe you, I guess.”

 

“Avril, what are you doing here?” Matt asked, looking to change the subject. “If you already got Ecruteak Gym’s Badge…”

 

“Everyone has to see the Dance Hall when they visit Ecruteak, of course. I came here after the Gym because…” Avril hesitated, her words becoming stuck in her throat. “...well, Olivine’s Gym Leader makes me nervous. I don’t know if I can beat her yet, so I had to get stronger.”

 

“I’d say you’re on the right track, then!” a cheerful voice intervened.

 

The man who had interrupted the conversation approached the group from across the room, his hands tucked snugly inside the pockets of his cream-colored dress pants. Clinging to his side was the Furisode Girl who Avril had just beaten. Matt, Olivia and the others quickly guessed that the two were related, owing to the man’s slightly unkempt hair matching hers in color.

 

“You said your name was Avril, right? I like how you’re able to battle and still keep an emotional connection to your Pokémon. I could tell that Staryu trusts you.” Tapping the girl on the shoulder, he asked, “Audrey, don’t you agree?”

 

“My brother’s right…” she quietly said. “I think Eevee could tell, too.”

 

Matt stared at the man and adjusted his glasses. “Wait, haven’t I seen your face somewhere before?”

 

“Oh, probably,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m sorry I was rude, let me introduce myself. The name’s Bill, and this is my little sister Audrey.”

 

“Hi…” Audrey nervously added.

 

“She’s a little shy,” Bill confessed, smiling.

 

“Doesn’t bother me.” Olivia extended a hand to Audrey and said, “I’m Olivia.”

 

Audrey hesitated at first, but eventually met Olivia’s offer with a weak handshake. Bill smiled as he watched his sister.

 

“That’s good, Audrey. It’s important to make friends when you become a trainer. Nobody can always do everything alone.” Suddenly feeling obligated to explain his words to the others, Bill elaborated to them, “Audrey just started out as a trainer, and she hasn’t really found her calling, so she’s been practicing here.”

 

“Our mom was a Kimono Girl a long time ago,” Audrey piped up, “so I became an apprentice Furisode Girl…”

 

“So your mom was someone important too? Mine is the Frontier Society’s commissioner…”

 

When she heard what Olivia said, Audrey’s eyes brightened. “So you’re really strong, then? Can I see your Pokémon?”

 

“Olivia, we don’t have time right now,” Matt informed her. “We’re already a little behind.”

 

“Isn’t it wonderful when people can be brought together? I want Audrey to really understand how important it is to connect with others, so I’m happy we met.” Turning to Matt, Bill asked, “And why have you come here, Matt? Are you friends with Avril?”

 

“I don’t know if I’d say that…” Matt said, laughing nervously to himself. “Wait, how did you know my name?”

 

“I’d be hard pressed to think of a scientist who doesn’t know your name, Matt.” In an instant, Bill’s face had begun to glow just as his younger sister’s was. “It’s quite a wonder, the mixture of man and machine. I’ve been fascinated by how it could be made real ever since I read about it in the scientific journals. It’s something I never thought I’d see outside of movies… I mean, sure, I’ve worked on developing conversion of living matter into data and transferring it long distances electronically, but there’s always something to be said for the first look at a new innovation, wouldn’t you agree?”

 

Matt’s eyebrow and hands were twitching as he took a shaky step back. While he appreciated Bill’s enthusiasm, it was overwhelming for him to deal with.

 

“Y...yeah, I s-suppose. I… I came here to talk to the Kimono Girls about an old legend.”

 

“Unfortunately, we will be unable to provide you with that service today.” The blue-clad Kimono Girl had walked to the edge of the stage and overheard the conversation. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kuni, the oldest sister of the five Kimono Girls. I am in charge of this theater.”

 

“My name is Matt,” he replied, “and these are my friends Nekou and Bunny, my student Olivia, and her friend Monroe. We…” Matt blinked, having noticed something wrong. “Wait, where’s Dante?”

 

“I’m right here!” Having just arrived, Dante crossed the room to join the others as fast as his aged legs would let him. A Xatu was alongside him. “Sorry, I had to run back to the Pokémon Center and take care of something with much haste. Have I missed much?”

 

“Apparently we’re not hearing about the Oberon legend today.” Matt said with a shrug.

 

Kuni’s eyes widened slightly when she heard Matt mention the Oberon. “So that is what you wish to learn about? Very well, that is something we can tell you. However, we are going to need some time to prepare. Please bear with us and return tomorrow.”

 

Looking again at his pocketwatch, Matt decided, “That’s not a bad idea. We’ve got other things to do today anyway. We’ll return, I promise.”

 

While the others were talking, the Xatu that followed Dante approached Bunny and began pecking her arm. Once he had her attention, he gestured with his wing to a small pouch slung around him.

 

“Xatu…” Bunny said out loud. She gasped when she realized what the Pokémon’s presence meant, then immediately snatched a piece of paper from within the pouch.

 

“Bunny?” Matt asked. “What’s going on?”

 

“This is Jacob’s Xatu,” she hurriedly said, fumbling with the letter. “He must have sent this to me.”

 

“What does it say?”

 

As a response to Nekou’s question, Bunny began to read the letter aloud.

 

_“Bunny, my dear Bunny, I can only pray with every ounce of life left in these old bones that this letter reaches you safely. I am one of two survivors of the bombing of the Magnet Train; the other is your detective friend, Looker. We are currently being held in an unknown location by a radical band of Tenganist terrorists, but they have gone out of their way to heal us and make us comfortable. They claim that we were not the target of their bombing, that they had been intending to bomb a train carrying cargo for Polaris. I do not know if this is the truth yet, but I feel I can trust them._

 

_You must be extremely careful. Polaris is planning something terrible, and it appears that it involves the mythology of the Tenganists. I cannot do my own investigation right now, so I must rely on you. I know you will turn your nose up at that proposal, but I beg you, please listen to me. You must find out what the secret of the Coronet Rosary is.”_

 

“The Coronet Rosary…?” Kuni uttered in shock.

 

“You know about it?” Bunny quickly asked.

 

“It is a forbidden part of Tenganist mythology.” Kuni’s eyes had become cold. She spoke in a flat voice as she looked down on the group from the stage. “We will tell you nothing. If you want to find anything about it, go to the Burned Tower.”

 

With that, Kuni turned and stormed off, her sisters following closely behind her. Bunny, Matt and the others looked at each other, trying to make sense of her sudden anger.

 

“The Coronet Rosary?” Bill wondered, rubbing his chin. “I wonder if our mother knew anything about it. Maybe her old Tenganist artifacts had something on it. Anyway, what will you be doing now?”

 

“I’ll go to the Burned Tower, I guess.” Bunny turned her head as she made this announcement, settling her gaze on the collapsed tower visible in the distance.

 

“Bunny, I’m going with you,” Nekou reflexively said, prompting Bunny to sigh.

 

 _“Guess I have a companion, huh?”_ she thought.

 

“I’m going off to the Battle Hall with Dante,” Matt revealed.

 

“May I come along with you?” requested Bill. “My older sister, Mako, she’s competing there today. I’d like to see her.”

 

“Sure. The more the merrier, I guess.”

 

“Hey, Audrey,” Olivia addressed her new friend, “How’d you like to come with Monroe and me to the Gym? You might have fun watching me.”

 

“That does sound pretty fun, actually…” A small smile worked its way onto Audrey’s face.

 

Olivia left the Dance Hall with Audrey and Monroe at that point. Avril, having nothing else to do, followed them. Bunny and Nekou departed next, but before they did, Bunny used a Poké Ball in Xatu’s pouch to claim ownership of the Psychic-and-Flying-type Pokémon. Matt, Dante and Bill went last.

 

Avril spent the next few minutes trailing behind her brother, Audrey and Olivia as they walked to the west, toward the Gym. At first, there was no conversation between any of them, so the still, cold air remained quiet.

 

“I know you’re there,” Olivia suddenly said, even though she didn’t turn her head to look at Avril. “What do you want?”

 

At first, Avril opened her mouth, but no words came out. When she did manage to speak, she uttered, “Checking out the competition. I’d have to be crazy to not stay up on what you’re doing.”

 

“I thought I wasn’t as good as you because I only have two Badges,” Olivia shot back, grinning.

 

“When you don’t stay on top of threats, they get out of control on you!” Avril protested.

 

“Things always like this?” Audrey asked Monroe, the two of them having started to trail back when Avril and Olivia’s bickering began.

 

“She can be mean sometimes, but…” Monroe pushed his hands into his pockets and looked down at the ground. “I wouldn’t give her up. We learned to live with each other, the two of us and our older sister Helena. Our dad’s away for work several times a year, so we have to take care of each other.”

 

“Kind of… that kind of reminds me of me,” Audrey quietly said as she hunched over slightly. “My brother and sister are really neat people but they’re busy a lot. When I even get to go shopping with them it’s nice.”

 

While Monroe and Audrey talked to each other, Olivia and Avril had continued their arguing.

 

“Did you even bother to reserve your battle?” Avril snapped. “This Gym makes you…”

 

“Of course I did,” Olivia countered. “You think I’m stupid? I know what I’m doing!”

 

Audrey and Monroe could only watch as Olivia and Avril crossed their arms and turned their heads away from each other.

 

-:-

 

While Ada continued working on her laptop to analyze the streams of information she was receiving, Trevor and Ariana were talking to each other in the back of the car.

 

“I’m worried about telling her,” Ariana said, rocking back and forth on her seat. “Do you think she’ll be able to keep going?”

 

“I know I have faith in her,” Trevor replied. He stared intently into Ariana’s widened eyes, emphasizing every one of his words. “Nekou’s tough, you know that.”

 

“She’s only tough because I made her that way.” Ariana’s lip quivered the entire time she offered her counter to Trevor’s words. “She needs the source of her strength.”

 

Ada, having been eavesdropping on the conversation, silently biting her lip and glaring at them through lowered eyes. She was brought back to attention, however, when Pierce suddenly appeared on her laptop.

 

“Executive Ariana!” he boomed. “Trevor, Ada!”

 

“What?” Ariana wearily groaned. “What happened?”

 

“We have a problem. Dino is not the only member of Team Plasma Ghetsis has brought in here. We spotted that girl he used to use in his speeches.”

 

“You mean that one who had a different story every time he trotted her out?” Ariana asked, concentrating on the subject as much as she could.

 

“T-that’s her,” Ada confirmed. “We don’t know who she is or where she came from, so we call her Lucky, the name Ghetsis used to refer to her. All we could figure out is that she’s a real believer in his cause, so much so that he used her as a supporter of his ideals in his speeches.”

 

“If she’s here too,” Trevor added, “then Ghetsis is really going all out. This is where he’s making his stand.”

 

Ada pressed her fingers into her forehead. “How should we handle this? What do we do?”

 

“Keep up your observation of Central Square,” Ariana directed Pierce, taking a deep breath part of the way through the sentence. “I don’t expect Ghetsis to make any moves today, but be vigilant.”

 

“Roger.”

 

Once Pierce ended his contact with Ada’s computer, Ariana slouched on her seat and shut her eyes.

 

-:-

 

A huge, tent-like building north of the Pokémon Center and Dance Hall towered over the rest of Ecruteak’s eastern half. The modern structure stood out like a sore thumb amidst its rustic surroundings, its mismatched presence made even more noticeable by the multicolored spotlights surrounding it. A digital billboard expressing welcome to those visiting the Battle Hall was displayed next to a line of sliding glass entry doors.

 

While scores of spectators cycled in, the competing trainers awaited the beginning of the tournament in a posh lounge just outside the arena. Nando and several others were seated at a bar, while Colress lurked in a corner, leaning against the wall. Giovanni watched the scientist warily, using his fedora to hide his glare.

 

Another of the tournament’s trainers was a certain red-haired young man. When he came through the doorway, he saw Giovanni and almost instantly became overcome with rage. He approached his father with slow, deliberate steps, each one accompanied by an intensifying of his angry memories.

 

“You!” Silver growled, causing his father to abruptly turn around. “Showing your face here… how could you?!”

 

“You’re as misbehaved as ever, Silver,” Giovanni coldly replied. “You must learn when to pick your fights. Now is a bad time for your agenda.”

 

Clenching his fists so tightly that his arms shook, Silver threatened, “I see plenty of people around me who had trouble from your gang. All of us against you. You like those odds, old man?”

 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Putting his hands in his pockets, Giovanni continued, “There are people in this room that I guarantee you would stand with me against.”

 

“Do you want to bet money on it?” the red-haired young man sneered.

 

“Perhaps another time, I would.”

 

While Giovanni and Silver’s argument unfolded, Matt had entered the lounge. After taking a quick look around, he sat down at the bar next to Nando and quietly ordered a drink.

 

“So how did your visit to the Dance Hall go?” the minstrel asked. He had altered his appearance with makeup to thicken his eyelashes, along with wearing a golden shoulder plate and a feather in his hat. “I am sure that the Kimono Girls were able to tell you what you needed.”

 

“Not yet,” Matt glumly replied, staring into the bar. “They told me they needed a day to prepare.”

 

“I see,” Nando said. He calmly strummed the strings of the larger harp he carried, modeled on a pair of Mew instead of just one. “Perhaps I will be able to join you tomorrow then.”

 

“I think that can be arranged.”

 

While Matt and Nando spoke, Dino entered the room and quietly walked to Colress, striking up a hushed conversation.

 

Moments later, Matt felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. He found himself being addressed by a young woman wearing a dark gray, buttoned-up top and matching skirt, both of which bore purple accent lines. Her dark boots went up to her knees, where long socks took over the rest of the way up her legs.

 

Recognizing the girl for the brown hair that spilled from under her cream-colored hat and her slight yet warm smile,, Matt said, “You know, I shouldn’t be surprised you’re here.”

 

“Well met, Miss Trista,” Nando added. “It is good to see you again. I hope we get to battle once more.”

 

“I’d enjoy battling you both here,” Trista said, before lowering her voice and gesturing to the still-arguing Giovanni and Silver. Despite what she was speaking of, her voice remained somewhat flat, as if she was bored. “Isn’t that the boss of Team Rocket, though? You know, the one who attacked the Indigo Plateau while we were there?”

 

Matt squinted at Giovanni. The angle he was at didn’t afford him a good view, but he managed to come around quickly. “Yeah, it is, I think. What’s he doing here?”

 

“He’s still the Viridian City Gym Leader,” Trista mused, lowering his eyes in disappointment. “I’m guessing he’s using that as an excuse. You would think they’d figure him out by now.”

 

Feeling his heart sinking, Matt rubbed his chin and whispered, “But why did he come here? He didn’t come here as a Gym Leader, you know that as well as I do. What’s he really after?”

 

Before they could come to a conclusion on Giovanni’s motives, still another Gym Leader approached them. Though he’d traded his traditional clothing for a dark brown leather pilot’s jacket, Falkner still wore his hair over his right eye, and Matt immediately recognized him as a result.

 

“Imagine, seeing you here!” the Violet Gym Leader greeted Matt. He had his hands planted deeply into his pockets, carrying himself with a casual attitude. As a result, he fit in well with the ordinary trainers around him, instead of standing out as a Gym Leader. “I assume these are friends of yours, then?”

 

“Yeah,” Matt answered, smiling as he relaxed his body slightly. “Trista and Nando, they’re both old friends I met years ago who do both Gym battles and Contests.”

 

“Interesting. I hope when I go back home to Violet City you’ll come visit my Gym.”

 

“You’re away right now?” Trista asked. “For more than just this tournament, I mean.”

 

“Yeah,” Falkner replied with a short nod. “I decided to close my Gym for a while and resume training on the road to make my Flying-type Pokémon even stronger. Speaking of which, Matt, where is Olivia?”

 

“She’s off at Ecruteak’s Gym now.”

 

“Morty’s a tough Gym Leader. I hope she’s up to the challenge.”

 

-:-

 

Ecruteak Gym was an odd entity within the city. Neither modern nor rustic, it held a strange charm all its own. Its appearance, based on an old mansion, left Olivia feeling slightly nervous as she approached with Monroe, Audrey and Avril. A bead of sweat rolled down her face despite the chill in the air.

 

“Not exactly a welcoming place, is it?” she said out loud, her voice shaking.

 

“What’s the matter, you scared?” Avril taunted her.

 

Olivia’s face flushed. “No, I’m not scared at all!” she shouted. Despite her protestations, however, she knew Avril was at least somewhat right. The Gym menaced her, and the dirt under her feet crunched as she rocked slightly back and forth.

 

“This is a weird Gym,” Monroe said to interrupt Olivia’s fearful thoughts. “A lot of people have so much trouble here, yet others… well, I had a pretty easy time, at least.”

 

“Well I guess we’re not getting anything done just standing around.” Olivia took out her Pokégear and gestured to the others. “Come here. I want to take a picture.”

 

Avril complied along with her brother and their new friend, but as she approached she asked, “Taking a picture? For what?”

 

“I decided I’m going to record as much as I can about what I’m doing,” Olivia explained, her tone becoming wistful as she thought about her memories. “I want to make a lot of new things worth remembering, so I don’t have to live with the old ones anymore.”

 

“That’s a cool idea…” Audrey quietly said.

 

The group lined up with each other, pushing close enough to all fit on the Pokégear’s camera. Audrey was the most eager to get in the picture, while Monroe and Avril hesitated at first due to embarrassment, albeit over different reasons.

 

After taking the picture, Olivia smiled, took a deep breath to build her resolve and stepped forcefully toward the Gym’s entrance. To move the heavy wood doors she had to push with as much strength as she could muster against their golden handles. They slowly opened accompanied by loud creaking, eventually giving way to allow Olivia and the others inside.

 

Beyond the doorway, a dark parlor greeted them. Their steps were absorbed by the soft, blood-red rug running straight from the door to the far wall, where a large painting was hung over an unlit fireplace. There was a single door flanking each side of the fireplace.

 

A shiver ran down Olivia’s body, and she crossed her arms to ward it off. It wasn’t the air in the Gym that was cold, it was the gaze of the many portraits lining the walls. Though they all were just works of art, she felt as if the men and women on the canvases were watching her every move.

 

“It sure feels like a Ghost-type Gym…” Olivia nervously murmured, recalling Nando’s words regarding it.

 

All of a sudden, a voice filled the room. “So you’ve come at last…”

 

Startled by the abrupt shattering of the silence in the Gym, Olivia screamed and jumped back. Audrey flinched, too, but Avril and Monroe just looked at each other and smiled.

 

“Don’t worry about that,” Monroe said in an attempt to calm Olivia down. “It’s nothing. He did it to Avril and I too.”

 

A man with blonde hair barely kept orderly by a purple headband had appeared on the video screen over the fireplace, its masquerade as a painting no longer necessary. He looked down on his guests with lazy, half-closed eyes and cracked a slight smile.

 

“Welcome back, Avril, Monroe,” he said, his voice breathy and calm. “I see you’ve brought your friend for her battle, just as you said you would.” Both Monroe and Avril flushed when the man revealed that they’d called Olivia their friend to him. “Olivia, it’s good to see you here as well. I have been looking forward to seeing you since you made your appointment. Let’s formalize this. I’m Morty, the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City’s Gym. It is said that a rainbow-colored Pokémon will appear to a strong trainer that fights for justice. That’s a myth of this city. I grew up listening to it, so I’ve trained my Ghost-type Pokémon to become strong enough to fight for the people here. What do you think? Do you have such an ideal in mind, Olivia?”

 

“I’m still figuring it out,” Olivia admitted, lowering her head. “The thing is, no matter what it is I end up doing, I want it to be something that my dad would have been proud of if he was still around. You know that Polaris gang that’s been on the news a lot lately? I want to stand up against them and prevent them from ruining what my dad would have wanted.”

 

“That’s admirable, your courage. I admit, I’ve been a bit concerned about Polaris as well. Their campaign has been roiling Ecruteak City for some time now. I have respect for someone like you who is willing to stand up against such a force. If it comes to such, I will need allies to stand alongside me against them. Let’s get started and find out if you possess that potential, shall we?”

 

“Alright!” Olivia agreed, her mood brightening considerably.

 

“Very well. Monroe, Avril, and…”

 

“Audrey,” Bill’s sister identified herself.

 

“...Audrey, hello. You three remain in the parlor and watch Olivia battle on the screen. Olivia, what you must do to reach me is this: in each of the rooms ahead of you, one of my Pokémon awaits. You will have a one-on-one fight with that Pokémon, then, whether you win or lose, you must go to another room and fight another Pokémon with a new Pokémon of your own. You can’t reuse a  Pokémon until you’ve used all three. If you can beat two rooms before losing all three of your Pokémon, you may bring all of your remaining Pokémon to go against my Gengar in the grand hall. Do you understand?”

 

Olivia took a moment to absorb all the directions Morty had given her, then nodded.

 

“Excellent. One additional rule… based on the Pokémon you informed me you possess when making your appointment today, I have equipped each room to contain an item or prize that you can use to make the fight easier. If you find yourself struggling, you should seek it out during the fight.”

 

“Alright, thanks.”

 

“So let us begin. Olivia, on your left is the doorway to the armory room, and on your right is the greenhouse. Choose your path, challenger. I wish you luck.”

 

-:-

 

A sellout crowd packed the Battle Hall’s arena, surrounding the stage that played host to its battlefield. Four rows from the front, Dante and Bill sat side-by-side. While the former sat and stared dispassionately at the stage, Bill fidgeted nervously. The deafening noise of the crowd around him irritated his nerves.

 

The assembled audience went silent, however, when the lights went down in the arena.

 

 _“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Frontier Society’s Battle Hall!”_ an announcer declared. _“One of the toughest tournaments in the entire Frontier Society is about to get underway. Here as your guide to this monumental event is the Frontier Brain of the Battle Hall, our very own Hall Matron, Kate!!”_

 

Several huge spotlights illuminated a figure standing in the doorway below the arena’s massive video screen, and the crowd immediately began cheering more loudly than ever. After striking a pose, the violet-haired woman swaggered down the catwalk connecting the passageway to the stage. The lights glittered against her red clothing and polished black boots.

 

“Welcome, welcome to you all!” Kate beamed once she reached center stage. “Yes, as you just heard, what you are about to witness is one of the greatest shows the Frontier Society can present. In just a few minutes, sixteen trainers will face off in a sudden death showdown to determine who can stand at the top. Sixteen trainers, sixteen types of Pokémon… only one of them will have the star power to make it through the fray and stand before me to conquer this facility. Aren’t you ready to find out who it will be?”

 

Following a resounding cheer from the crowd, Kate turned around and faced the video screen. Almost immediately, Dante spotted something and leaned forward on his cane.

 

“Bill, look at that,” he said, pointing forward. “On her headset.”

 

Indeed, there was something embedded in the left-hand headphone of Kate’s headset. It was a circular, blue-and-yellow object bearing a double helix pattern within it.

 

Bill had to squint to see it, but when he did, he gasped. “A Key Stone, right? Doesn’t that mean she can…”

 

“Mega Evolution,” Dante confirmed. “I had heard a rumor that there was a Frontier Brain capable of using it. Now only to find out what Pokémon it is that she’s accomplished it with.”

 

“I’ve never seen a Mega Evolution before!” Bill cheerfully said, his nerves having melted away thanks to his enthusiasm. “I mean, I only just started learning about it, but the whole idea of a Pokémon temporarily evolving even further is exciting, don’t you think? I always was fascinated by Eevee but this just takes it to a whole other level.”

 

“You sure seem into it, my friend,” Dante joked.

 

“Take a look at our big board!” Kate urged the crowd. On the screen, mugshots of the trainers for the tournament were displayed, along with tags reading different types. “As you can see, sixteen types, all there for the taking. Each type designates at least one type of that trainer’s sole Pokémon. Are you ready to begin?” When her question was answered by a mighty cheer, she continued, “Alright, that’s the answer I wanted to hear! Let’s shuffle them all up and see who will be facing who in the first round!”

 

While the crowd’s noise level lowered to a consistent murmur, the portraits on the screen flipped over and began to mix around. After several seconds, they stopped and turned back over, posting the trainers in eight pairs.

 

Matt and Dino, tagged with the Psychic and Ghost types respectively, were paired together. Nando and his Grass-type were slated to battle Trista and her Dragon-type, while Colress, Falkner, Giovanni and Silver were placed into their own matches against other trainers.

 

“And there we have it, everyone!” Kate boomed, turning back to face the crowd. “The last man standing at the end of this will face me in a championship match. There’s a lot of battling to get done, so let’s get to meet our first two competitors! Hailing from Goldenrod City and representing the Electric type, Mako!”

 

Kate gestured toward the right side of the stage, where a woman was approaching via another catwalk. Her dark brown, gold-lined coat flowed elegantly around her slacks just above her tall boots. She carried herself with calm, fluid motions that gave her an almost otherworldly air.

 

“Go for it, Mako!” Bill called out to his sister from his seat. “I know you can win!”

 

Mako flashed her brother a brief smile as she stepped into her box on the stage. Once she was in position, Kate turned around and stretched her arm toward the opposite pathway.

 

“Opposing Mako and her Electric-type Pokémon is the representative of the Ice-type, hailing from Mossdeep City, Abner!”

 

When the lights shined on the left-hand catwalk, a shaggy-haired, unshaven man wearing hiking clothes and a huge yellow backpack appeared in the doorway. He stood for a moment and smiled smugly, bathing in the audience’s praise. Though he took his time, he eventually joined Kate and Mako on the stage.

 

“Oi, a real cutie for my first fight, it looks like?” After winking at Mako, he continued, “I ain’t gonna be going easy on you, nope, not at all. Try not to let yourself get too hurt!”

 

“Some real trash talk from Abner!” Kate shouted, deliberately stoking the playful hostility between the two trainers. “Does Mako have something to say about that?”

 

Mako reached up and clutched her necklace, then closed her eyes. “I’m not too worried about getting hurt,” she calmly said.

 

“Mako’s showing real confidence, but who will be the one to stand on top?” Kate thrust her hand into the air and cried out, “Let the battle begin!”

 

“Froslass, let’s go!” Abner announced, throwing the Poké Ball he’d taken from his backpack.

 

After drawing out her own Poké Ball, Mako extended her arm in a fluid motion, causing the bracelets she was wearing to tap against each other. She took a deep breath, then threw the ball and called out, “Jolteon, let’s win this!”

 

Once they had appeared from their respective capsules, Jolteon and Froslass took time to carefully examine each other. Jolteon lowered himself nearer to the ground and slowly circled toward his opponent, who was forced to drift in the opposite direction to avoid letting him get an opening against her.

 

“Defense and then offense should win the day, Froslass. Hail!”

 

Mako smirked. “Snow Cloak, as I thought. Looks like I’m going to need some fortune of my own. Jolteon, Thunderbolt!”

 

Froslass spread her arms, and a soft white aura surrounded her. Clouds began to form above the battlefield, but before anything could happen, Jolteon unleashed a blast of electricity from his body and shocked her. She lost her focus as she reeled back in midair, her once-gentle cry twisting into a distressed shriek.

 

 _“Jolteon strikes first with a devastating Thunderbolt!”_ the announcer boomed over the crowd’s cheering. As Froslass sank to the floor, her body convulsing from the electric shock, he added, _“And it appears that Froslass has been stricken by paralysis!”_

 

“F-Froslass…” Abner stumbled.

 

“And now I call check.” Mako thrust her arm forward. Her bracelets hit each other once more, and the spotlights glistened on the ring she wore. “Shadow Ball!”

 

With a sharp growl, Jolteon leapt into the air. A dark, glowing sphere took shape in front of his mouth, and by shaking his head, he flung it straight down at Froslass’s prone body. It exploded when it made contact with Froslass, and when the smoke from the blast faded, the Ice-and-Ghost-type Pokémon was sprawled face-down on the stage.

 

“Froslass is unable to battle!” Kate announced. “The winners of this battle are Mako and Jolteon!”

 

The crowd erupted into raucous cheering once more, so loud that Bill didn’t notice Dante speaking to him until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

 

“What…?”

 

“I said your sister really is impressive. After that, I want to see her and Matt go at it. I’d bet on her, though.”

 

Mako and Abner shook hands at center stage, their Pokémon at their sides. He hastily scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed to her, and as they separated to leave the arena, she tucked it into a pocket inside her coat.

 

“That was just the kind of battle we needed to start this tournament out, I’d say,” Kate cheerfully said to the audience. “What do you say we kick it up even further? Huh?” When her question was met with deafening cheers, her smile widened. “Alright, let’s go for it! Up next we have two trainers who have also met several times on the field of Pokémon Contests. They’ve both had their share of glory against each other, but which of them will stand on top this time? Introducing the representative of the Grass type, from Alamos Town, Nando! And against him, hailing from Whitegold City and carrying the Dragon type, Trista!”

 

Nando and Trista entered the arena from opposite ends; while she carried herself with a hardened determination that reflected on her face, he was simply smiling in the same gentle manner he usually had. His mind was still on the battle, though, it just manifested itself in the tight grip he had on his giant harp.

 

“So we meet in combat once more, Trista,” he calmly said, his eyes closed. “I look forward to seeing how our battle will turn out.”

 

Trista took a wide stance and leaned forward, never taking her eyes away from her opponent. “I’m going to beat you this time, I’ll warn you now.”

 

“I hoped to hear that from you.” Slowly opening his eyes, Nando quietly but firmly added, “Go all out. I will as well.”

 

“It’s time to can the talk and get to fighting!” Kate thrust her hand into the air, then sharply brought it down. “Battle begin!”

 

Nando pulled a soft note from his harp, then removed a Poké Ball from his bag. “Roserade, make your entrance!”

 

The light from Nando’s Poké Ball broke apart like fireworks, providing fanfare for Roserade as he took shape on the field. He held his arms in a cross in front of himself and stood perfectly still with his eyes closed, serenely waiting for the Pokémon he would face.

 

“When I saw you in the Grass category, I thought you’d be using Roserade,” Trista said, her face rigid. “I came prepared. Dorothy, let’s go!”

 

A Kingdra appeared from the Poké Ball Trista threw, floating just above the floor as if she was in her natural water habitat. She looked down on Roserade with cold eyes; the two had met before, and they shared a mutual sense of competition against each other.

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, as the Battle Hall’s first round had begun to unfold, Olivia’s challenge of Ecruteak Gym had also begun. She had taken the left-hand door, which led to the mansion’s armory. As a result, she found herself against Morty’s Yamask, a Pokémon that resembled a small black ghost attached to a golden mask. While her Minccino sprinted around the room, using the many suits of armor scattered around as cover from Yamask’s Will-O-Wisp attacks, Olivia was frantically searching the furniture.

 

“It seems we’re at a stalemate here, Olivia,” Morty commented, his face displayed on a screen much like the one in the parlor. “Yamask can only do residual damage to Minccino, but Minccino can stay away from Yamask. On the other hand, though, if you don’t get close, you can’t damage Yamask either. What will you do?”

 

“You said…” Olivia was interrupted when she pulled a drawer on an old desk open, sending a cloud of dust into her face. She coughed several times before finally saying, “You said there was something in here that would help me win!”

“I didn’t lie. You only have to find it.” After waiting a moment to allow Olivia to continue her search, Morty moved closer to the camera transmitting his image. “Yamask, continue using Will-O-Wisp!”

 

Olivia could hear Minccino’s frantic cries behind her, accompanied by the noise of the armor as it crashed down around the Pokémon. She knew that Minccino wouldn’t be able to run forever.

 

 _“Hold on, Minccino, just a little longer…”_ she thought. Sweat rolled down her face as she moved on to search the chest next to the desk, even though the air in the Gym carried a strong chill. _“I’ll get you out of this… just hold on…”_

 

In spite of Olivia’s determination, however, the chest contained nothing but another cloud of dust. She pulled her head back in time to avoid inhaling it. The noise of Yamask chasing Minccino forced her to quickly turn around in order to figure out what she was dealing with, but as she watched the pursuit, a glint from an empty flower pot across the room caught her eye.

 

Olivia reflexively raised her brows, and a glitter filled her eyes. “Minccino, run to where I am now! Just keep dodging Yamask a little longer!”

 

Minccino looked toward Olivia, and after responding with an energetic cry, turned sharply in her direction. One of Yamask’s Will-O-Wisps just barely missed her head, breaking apart the armor it hit. Olivia deftly danced around the combat, weaving her way past the flying flames and rushing Pokémon, reaching the pot within seconds.

 

When she reached inside, the only thing she felt was an egg-shaped object. A chill ran up her arm when her hand grazed it, but she still didn’t hesitate to pull it out.

 

It was a transparent stone that glowed brightly from within. As she realized what it was, Olivia’s eyes widened, and the stone’s brilliance glowed in them.

 

“Ah, well done!” Morty praised her. “I see you found the Shiny Stone I left for you. You passed the test, so go ahead and use it.” Moving his head slightly, he directed, “Yamask, back off for a minute.”

 

“Ya,” the Ghost-type Pokémon answered, floating back as he had been told to.

 

“Minccino, you know what this means, right?” Olivia asked, her voice radiating with excitement. She was clutching the stone so tightly her knuckles were whitening. “Now we can step up to the…”

 

Locking eyes with Minccino gave Olivia pause, and she stopped walking toward the Pokémon.

 

 _“If I force Minccino into this...”_ she thought, her mind suddenly locking up. _“That would be wrong. Herdier and Dewott, when they evolved, it was up to them. I have no right to take that choice away from Minccino…”_

 

Minccino stared at Olivia, gasping for breath as she recovered her strength. She knew what her trainer was holding and understood its purpose. What puzzled, her, though, was the fact that Olivia wasn’t using it. She asked herself in her mind why Olivia was hesitating, why she couldn’t see just how badly Minccino wanted to take Yamask down.

 

Olivia was lost in thought until she felt a tug on her leg. When she looked down, she saw Minccino climbing up her body, fixated on the stone. Minccino climbed onto her arm, grabbed her hand before she could react, and pulled the stone from her grasp.

 

By the time Minccino reached the floor again, both she and the Shiny Stone were enveloped in bright light. She absorbed the stone and grew larger, and long tufts of fur emerged from her head to wrap around her body. Her tail also changed, becoming very similar in appearance to the new, fluffy growths. When the light faded a few moments later, a different Pokémon stood where Minccino once had been.

 

“Cin-ci!” the newly evolved Cinccino cried, putting her paws on her hips to show off her appearance.

 

“You wanted to…?” Olivia uttered, dumbfounded. “Somehow I didn’t think…”

 

Cinccino sighed and turned away from Olivia, deciding that the battle was more important than trying to get through to her. She waved her paw at Yamask, taunting him.

 

“Congratulations on your Minccino evolving,” Morty calmly said. His voice then turned much more serious as he added, “Don’t think it means I’m going to make this easy on you, though. Yamask, go back on the attack! Will-O-Wisp!”

 

In an instant, Yamask formed two more orbs of blue flame, one in each of his hands. Cinccino waited for a direction from Olivia, but one never came, so she shot down the flares by flinging a pair of small rocks at them with her tail.

 

“Cin-cii!” the Normal-type Pokémon shrilly reproached her trainer.

 

Cinccino’s admonishment finally snapped Olivia back to reality. “Th-that’s right, sorry, Cinccino… that wasn’t an attack I’ve seen you use before.” Olivia took out her Pokédex and pointed it at Cinccino, browsing through the pages until she reached its known moves. “Rock Blast… and you learned Bullet Seed, too, I see. Let’s give him a taste! Bullet Seed!”

 

“Block it, then use Disable,” Morty commanded.

 

After carefully aiming at Yamask, Cinccino spit four round, pellet-like seeds at him, one at a time. Yamask didn’t flinch, even when they got near to him. He simply held up his golden mask like a shield, causing them to bounce away with little effect. He then flashed a purple light in his eyes, and the same light briefly flashed around Cinccino’s body.

 

“No more Bullet Seed for now,” Olivia mumbled through clenched teeth. “I need an out right now…”

 

Olivia thought back to what her Pokédex told her about Yamask at the beginning of the battle. _“These Pokémon arose from the spirits of people interred in graves. Each retains memories of its former life. Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.”_

 

After another quick look over her surroundings, Olivia felt an idea suddenly hit her. She hesitated only a brief moment to wonder why she hadn’t thought of it earlier before making her move.

 

“Cinccino, rush Yamask!”

 

“You’re not giving up, are you?” Morty taunted, unaware of what was about to happen. “Yamask, stay on Minccino and use Will-O-Wisp!”

 

Olivia grinned. “Just what I wanted,” she said under her breath. She then raised her voice and ordered, “Hurry, dodge under the armor, then use Aqua Tail!”

 

Cinccino turned at a sharp angle and sprinted under the legs of a nearby suit of armor. Yamask followed, but the Will-O-Wisp he threw hit the floor and dissipated harmlessly. Though Cinccino was out of his sight after that, he could hear her jump up and strike the back of the armor, which collapsed over him in a heap.

 

“Ci cino!” the Normal-type Pokémon laughed as she stood over the wreckage.

 

“Good job!” Olivia called out, pumping her fist into the air. “That’ll turn things around!”

 

“Do I sense overconfidence now, Olivia?” In spite of what he said, Morty raised a brow. _“She wouldn’t get that upbeat if she wasn’t up to something… but what…”_

 

The top of Yamask’s head phased through the metal, allowing him to peer over at Cinccino, who was staring at him intently. He growled to himself, angered by how his home in the Gym had been used against him, then continued to float upward.

 

Suddenly, he felt a slight tug on the bottom of his body. The armor pieces beneath him shifted, and when he exerted more effort in order to free himself, he shot upward into the air. His mask was no longer attached to him, and when he realized it, he began to flail around and cry.

 

Morty’s eyes widened, and his mouth slowly fell open. “So that’s what you were…”

 

“That’s right,” Olivia bragged, “Yamask might be a ghost, but that mask is solid. So obviously, ghosts can go through solid objects, but other solid objects can’t! And now you have no defense either, so eat this! Rock Blast!”

 

Grinning widely, Cinccino jumped toward the now-vulnerable Yamask with several rocks in her tail. He stopped thrashing, but only to watch in helpless, wide-eyed terror as Cinccino flung the stones at him. His body was weak without the protection the mask provided, and after the fourth stone cut into him, he crumpled to the floor with one last whimper.

 

“Impressive, Olivia!” Morty complimented her. Now smiling, he pressed a button on his side of the screen, activating the wall-mounted Poké Ball to call Yamask back. “That was the first step on Ecruteak Gym’s challenge. What do you think so far?”

 

“It was…” Olivia almost said ‘easy,’ but caught herself and realized the untruth of that statement before she finished. “It was tough, but I think I had fun.”

 

“You did a pretty good job juggling the scavenger hunt with keeping your battle in line, too.” Looking down, Morty added, “And of course, I have to give you credit as well, Cinccino. You’re the one who did the fighting, after all.”

 

Pleased with herself as the result of Morty’s praise, Cinccino once again took her paws-on-hips pose and smirked. Both the Gym Leader and Olivia couldn’t resist laughing at her playfully cocky attitude.

 

“Anyway,” Morty continued, “You now have to move on to the next room. As before, there are two doors.” Lights came up on the passages upon Morty’s prompt. “On the left is the mansion’s toy room, on the right, the dining room. Which one will it be?”

 

Almost immediately, Olivia answered, “The toy room sounds like fun. Let’s go there.”

 

“See you there.”

 

Morty nodded gently before his face disappeared from the screen. After scratching Cinccino behind the ears one last time, Olivia recalled her, then walked for the left-hand door.

 

_“A toy room, huh? He’s a Ghost-type Pokémon user, so I should expect…”_

 

Before she even realized it, Olivia found herself standing just inside the next room of her challenge. It was just as dimly lit as the armory, but instead of the cold presence of the suits, it was filled with all sorts of wooden and plush toys strewn about. Olivia felt her muscles automatically relax slightly in response to the more comforting surroundings.

 

“Welcome, Olivia!” Morty greeted her after his face appeared on the toy room’s screen. “Are you ready to meet the Pokémon that guards this room?”

 

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Olivia responded. She had her Poké Ball prepared already, even though she hadn’t seen what Morty would go with yet.

 

“Alright. I like your nerve, I have to say that. Anyway, here we go, Shuppet!”

 

Morty pressed another of the buttons before him, and the Poké Ball near the screen burst open. The Shuppet that emerged hung limply in the air, though her eyes burned with life.

 

“I think my choice is a good one,” Olivia said to herself as she pulled her arm back to throw the ball. “Herdier, let’s play!”

 

-:-

 

“Now, for our next battle… it’s Matt from Snowpoint City versus Dino from Castelia City!”

 

Matt had his eye wide open as he walked to the stage on Kate’s cue, but his mind was elsewhere. It was the only way he could prevent himself from falling apart in front of the crowd. To force thoughts of them from his mind, he stared at the floor and considered the battles that had come before him as he walked.

 

Nando and Trista’s battle hadn’t been long. Roserade tried to outmaneuver Dorothy early, but Trista’s Kingdra was well prepared to face her old foe once again, and quickly overwhelmed him using Ice Beam. Colress fought a bodybuilder and her Swalot using his Klinklang in the third match, and easily won as a result of his Steel-type’s superiority over the Poison-type. After him, Falkner and Pidgeot managed to defeat a Gligar in a closely-fought aerial battle. Matt and Dino were the fifth match, and after him, Giovanni and Silver had slated battles using their Normal and Water-type Pokémon respectively.

 

A bead of sweat rolled down Matt’s face as he thought about his competition. The Battle Hall’s focus on a single Pokémon dramatically limited his options, and even though he had more faith than ever in his Sigilyph thanks to her performance at the Battle Cafe, he knew just how much every factor in a one-on-one battle mattered. Colress in particular worried him; the man’s cold, calculating nature combined with his Steel-type Klinklang’s ability to trump Sigilyph on type left Matt well aware of the threat Colress posed.

 

Matt was so lost in thought that he actually stepped just past his mark. He didn’t realize it until he noticed both Kate and Dino staring at him from their appropriate places.

 

 _“Shit,”_ he thought, feeling a nervous shock running through his body as he returned to where he should have been.

 

“Well now that everyone is in their places....” Kate loudly remarked, her sarcasm only making Matt even more nervous, “...it’s time to get this battle started! It’s the Psychic-type versus the Ghost-type! Battle begin!”

 

“Don’t fold now… you came this far,” Matt mumbled to himself, clutching the Poké Ball in his bag for a moment before throwing it. “Cordelia, make your mark!”

 

When Cordelia materialized in front of Matt, Dino shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned. “Interesting, so you went with your Sigilyph like you did at the Battle Cafe. This ought to be interesting.”

 

“How… how do you know about that?” Matt choked.

 

Dino removed his hands from his pockets and shrugged. “There are television shows that cover notable battles at the Frontier Society facilities. Someone fighting tooth and nail to reach Lyra only to lose spectacularly makes for a good show, you know? Anyway, let’s get started. I’ve been waiting to get a shot at you since I first saw coverage of you.”

 

By that point, Matt was completely frozen. The idea of his battles attracting attention even outside those watching him in person brought his stage fright to a whole new level, and the only response he could muster was the all too familiar twitch that returned to his fingers.

 

“Now for my Pokémon,” Dino declared, pulling a Poké Ball of his own from his pocket. “Trevenant, let’s go!”

 

When the ball burst open, a Pokémon completely alien to Matt emerged. He heavily resembled a dead tree, with several places on his body rotted away to expose something black underneath. His thin, outstretched arms ended in sharply hooked claws, and he supported his weight on six thick roots bent like spider legs.

 

Matt shivered under the Trevenant’s cold glare. “A Ghost-type might be trouble,” he reasoned to himself as he worked his tablet from his bag, “but it looks like it might be a Grass-type too…”

 

 _“Trevenant, the Elder Tree Pokémon. Type is Ghost and Grass.”_ Matt relaxed slightly once  his suspicions were confirmed. _“It can control trees at will. It will trap people who harm the forest, so they can never leave. Using its roots as a nervous system, it controls the trees in the forest. It's kind to the Pokémon that reside in its body.”_

 

“Yeah, I think I can handle this…”

 

The truth was that Matt knew he was lying to himself, however. He could feel the heat from hundreds of pairs of eyes searing into his skin, and when he factored in the countless people not watching in person, he felt like he was baking inside his coat. He briefly considered removing it between rounds, but he remembered that he couldn’t get even a little cold and let go of the idea.

 

“That’s good and all,” Dino said, “but what matters is what happens on the battlefield. That’s where you can become anyone you want.”

 

“Both trainers have potential type advantages over each other,” Kate thundered, her words pumping up the energy of the crowd. “How will this situation play out? Is it as even as it looks, or does one side hold an advantage we don’t yet see? Let us find out! Let the battle begin!”

 

“Cordelia, Air Slash!” Matt called out the moment the battle started.

 

“Alright, Trevenant, use your legs to boost off the Air Slash, then use Shadow Claw!”

 

Just before the blade of air struck Trevenant, he pushed himself up on his legs. Cordelia’s attack swept under him, creating an updraft that pushed Trevenant skyward. He lunged forward in midair and swung with his glowing-black claw, but failed to do more than graze Cordelia’s body. She flopped backward but quickly recovered and lowered her eye at her foe.

 

“You just made one mistake,” Matt said, confidence bracing him for the first time. “Now that I know how you respond to my Flying-type moves, I just need to stop you from doing that. Cordelia, Ice Beam!”

 

Despite his disadvantage, Dino didn’t lose his composure. He calmly directed, “Trevenant, knock it away with Shadow Claw.”

 

While Cordelia immediately started chilling the air in front of her body, Trevenant hesitated to follow Dino’s command. He stared up at the Pokémon facing him, and even though it was only for a brief moment, it was enough for Matt to take notice of it. He raised an eyebrow just as Cordelia overran Trevenant’s arm with ice, freezing it.

 

“Again, Cordelia! Ice Beam!”

 

Though Matt was decisive in calling his next move, he felt doubt creeping up again. It was an unpleasant sensation rising through his arms as if they were still his natural ones; though he was familiar with the feeling he never had gotten used to it.

 

Dino wasn’t responding to him and giving directions to Trevenant anymore. Whether it was because he knew he had lost, Matt wasn’t sure. All he knew was that Trevenant feebly tried to block the Ice Beam with his other arm, only for it to get frozen as well. Cordelia didn’t relent, either, quickly following it up with a third Ice Beam that froze Trevenant’s feet in place.

 

 _“Trevenant is completely frozen still!”_ the announcer blared, giving words to accompany the visual. _“Is this the end for Dino already?”_

 

Matt sighed, his thoughts focusing on one goal - to escape from the increasingly uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible. “Cordelia, finish this up with Air Slash.”

 

 _“Nothing you can do when you’re beaten,”_ Dino thought to himself, clutching the Poké Ball in his pocket even before Cordelia moved.

 

-:-

 

Much had changed about Ecruteak City over the years. For a long time, the entire city was like the eastern half of its modern incarnation, filled with quaint, traditional buildings. In fact, it was more like a village, even though it had always been called a city.

 

When change came, it took hold hard and fast. Ecruteak’s western half evolved into a dense, run-down urban space over the course of only around a decade, coming to resemble Goldenrod City more than itself. All of the swift change was brought on by society’s rapidly increasing interest in Pokémon training and battling. It was the Angel Corporation behind that paradigm shift, through their ad campaigns promoting the then-impending arrival of the Frontier Society in tandem with the migration of Pokémon from foreign lands. Among young people, these acts led to a dramatic spike in interest in the career of a traveling trainer. Other facilities, such as Pokémon Centers and Gyms, also saw greatly increased activity. In the end, even an ancient, traditional city like Ecruteak could not completely escape the change.

 

One trait about Ecruteak that hadn’t changed over the years was the city’s symbol, their two towers. The Bell Tower was one, and to its east, located exactly on the borderline between the traditional and modern halves of the city, was the other. It had once been called the Brass Tower, but after burning down well over a century earlier, it came to be known more simply as the Burned Tower. Unlike its counterpart, it was fully open to the public, a fact that Bunny and Nekou were taking full advantage of.

 

Bunny would have been shivering from the cold air flowing through the ruins if she hadn’t had Balin out with her. The Ninetales was exhaling a small, gentle flame from his mouth, providing both heat and light to his trainer, who was leaning down and examining pieces of a broken wall. She was carefully copying down the writing on the wall in a notebook.

 

 _“So glad I didn’t have to look long to find this…”_ Bunny thought to herself. _“Not really in the mood to dig around in the cold, quiet dark today…”_ Realizing what she had thought, she stopped writing and said out loud, “Wait, quiet? With Nekou around?”

 

Bunny stood and turned around, and discovered that what she noticed actually was true. Nekou was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Well, that’s weird. I wonder where she went. I guess we’ll meet up again later… she’ll be alright.”

 

Satisfied with that conclusion, Bunny went back to her work transcribing the strange writing. Because of how the wall had been damaged, a good deal of it was incomplete and out of order.

 

Several minutes passed in peaceful silence, allowing Bunny to devote her full attention to what she was doing. All of a sudden, however, a bright light appeared over her, causing her to drop her pen and notebook as she sprang up in shock and turned around.

 

Behind her, a ghostly creature floated, shining the light from within her pumpkin body. A black spirit bearing yellow eyes and a small, fanged mouth grew from inside the pumpkin as well.

 

“What the hell is…”

 

“Having fun, Pumpkaboo?” Nekou abruptly appeared, grinning broadly. The Pokémon giggled in response, prompting Nekou to laugh slightly as well. “I see you’ve met my new Pokémon, Bunny.”

 

“Is that where you went?” Bunny demanded, pointing her finger at Nekou. “You go off and disappear and then you’ve got another of your troublemakers. I shouldn’t be surprised at this point, should I?”

 

“Nope,” Nekou replied, her voice a monotone. “You know me well enough by now. You should know how things go with me.”

 

“You know what, you’re right.” Bunny lowered her eyelids and the tone of her voice to match Nekou’s eyes and voice. “I do know how you get.”

 

While Nekou and Bunny talked, Pumpkaboo floated over to Balin and settled on his head. The Ninetales immediately became irritated and shook around to remove her, then began growling once he got Pumpkaboo off.

 

Bunny sighed and brought her hand to her face. “Can you try not to disrupt me from doing this? It’s kind of important.”

 

“Alright, alright,” Nekou answered, waving her hand dismissively. “I’ll be good. Just let me watch.”

 

For the next few minutes, Bunny quietly continued working on copying the writing, though she was irritated by the feeling of Nekou hovering mere inches away from her.

 

“Huh?” Suddenly, Bunny stopped writing. “What’s this?”

 

Nekou peered slightly over Bunny’s shoulder. “Something got you confused?”

 

“Right here,” Bunny said, running her hand over a section of the wall. Instead of text, it appeared to be part of a spherical shape carved into the stone.

 

-:-

 

As Olivia pushed the great doors of the Gym’s main hall open, light flooded her eyes. She couldn’t help but instinctively close them and raise her arm up until she got used to it. Once she was able to fully appreciate her surroundings, she realized the grandiosity of where she was.

 

The hall could not have been any more unlike the other rooms in the mansion. They had been dim, dusty and cramped, while the final chamber was spacious and well-furnished. Paintings in ornate frames lined the walls beneath marble arches, while a grand crystal chandelier hung over the checkered ballroom floor at the center of the space.

 

After drawing inside by a few more steps, Olivia could see Morty standing at the far end of the room. He had his back to her and was staring into a video screen, evidently the one he’d been broadcasting from all along.

 

“I’m impressed with how easily you made it past Shuppet, Olivia.” Morty slowly turned to face her, his arms crossed and his face bearing a wide, gentle smile. “Your Herdier was quite impressive indeed.”

 

“Well, I raised it well,” Olivia replied, grinning. “I know what I’m doing.”

 

“I agree, you do. Now…” As he descended the short staircase to the battlefield, Morty started tossing a Poké Ball in his right hand. “Because you advanced through the first two rooms you visited and did not lose a single Pokémon, you may use Cinccino, Herdier and one more Pokémon against my ultimate Pokémon. This will be a straightforward battle, no tricks or hidden bonuses. Are you ready?”

 

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Olivia said, steeling herself and grasping her own Poké Ball. “Bring it on.”

 

“Very well. The Fog Badge is at stake, so let’s begin!”

 

Morty put his left hand behind his back and threw the Poké Ball with a sweeping motion of his right. When it burst open, a dark figure emerged from the light, quickly congealing into the form of a Gengar. He stood in front of his trainer with a slouched posture that only made his grin even more sinister.

 

“I think I might have guessed that was what it would be…” Olivia admitted. She met Gengar’s gaze head-on, but she felt a chill run through her body nevertheless. “I want to try something a little different. It might not work out, but I want to try. Mr. Mime, let’s play!”

 

Morty took a step back when he learned of Olivia’s choice. He had expected Herdier to return, owing to his knowing Crunch to use against Ghost-types. On top of that, though, he also never thought Olivia would choose a Psychic-type due to their own natural weakness against Ghosts.

 

 _“I guess it makes sense, though,”_ he thought. _“Gengar is part Poison-type, and she did say she expected it.”_

 

“Mr. Mime, are you ready to go?” Olivia asked.

 

To Olivia’s surprise, Mr. Mime replied with nothing but a weak, emotionless groan. He looked up at his enemy, but stood with his arms hung limply at his sides.

 

“I suppose I will take the first move,” Morty declared. As he raised his arm, he expressed a silent hope that his attack would reveal what was wrong with Olivia’s Pokémon. “Shadow Punch!”

 

“Mr. Mime, use Mimic!”

 

Morty immediately understood the kind of strategy Olivia had planned while he watched Gengar lunge toward Mr. Mime. The Ghost-and-Poison type struck Mr. Mime with his glowing, black arm, forcing Olivia’s Pokémon back. As Mr. Mime stumbled, however, his body glowed with golden light.

 

“Carrying Mimic in order to take Ghost-type moves, which will work well against Ghost-types… it’s risky, but a clever strategy nevertheless.” Though he was complimenting Olivia, in his mind Morty was still questioning what was going on. “I want you to show me what your full convictions are capable of. Gengar, Night Shade!”

 

“You know what you have to do, Mr. Mime!” Olivia hoped that if she showed determination in her voice, whatever was upsetting Mr. Mime would alleviate itself. “Shadow Punch!”

 

Mr. Mime lifted his fist and focused the same dark energy Gengar used around it, but he acted so sluggishly that he did not take any further movements. He simply stood and allowed Gengar to overrun him with beams of black light fired from his eyes.

 

With a weak, frustrated groan, Mr. Mime slouched to the floor in a heap. He could be heard sobbing softly, and he refused to lift his head to either Olivia or Morty.

 

“Stop, this isn’t working!” Olivia ran out onto the battlefield and got between Mr. Mime and Gengar, waving her arms as she went. “I don’t totally understand why, but I get it, Mr. Mime doesn’t want to fight.” Turning around and leaning down, she asked her Pokémon, “Is that right?”

 

The only response Olivia got was a frustrated, quiet murmur.

 

“I think I understand,” Morty intervened, drawing Olivia’s attention. “I won’t force you to make Mr. Mime fight any further, but I hope you understand that I have to count this as a knockout.”

 

Olivia rose back to her full height, but she couldn’t find words to say right away. Deep down inside, she knew that the right thing to do would be to accept the penalty and let Mr. Mime have his rest. Yet, part of her wanted to refuse the deal and try to turn things around.

 

 _“No, I can’t do that!”_ she snapped to herself in her mind. _“What kind of person would I be if…”_

 

Refusing to allow herself to finish the stomach-turning thought, Olivia nodded her assent to Morty’s offer. She then took Mr. Mime’s hand and carefully led him him to the sidelines. It was almost entirely her own effort that moved the two of them; Mr. Mime barely moved a muscle.

 

Once she had deposited him on the sidelines, Olivia started on her way back to the battlefield. She could feel Mr. Mime’s presence like a burning flame on her back, and it made her hang her head. It horrified her that she could even have entertained such thoughts. By the time she was back in place, she was more concerned with asking herself how she could be so blind to Mr. Mime’s needs.

 

Morty noticed Olivia’s eyes twitching, but decided to try and work her through it by focusing her back on her goals. “I will be ready to begin again as soon as you decide which Pokémon you wish to go with. Will it be Herdier or Cinccino?”

  
_“Cinccino’s still a bit tired from fighting Yamask, so…”_ Her mind made up, Olivia took out Herdier’s Poké Ball and threw it, calling out his name as she did so.

 

-:-

 

Matt stormed through the tunnels behind the Battle Hall’s stage, his heavy footsteps echoing loudly in the metal corridors. There weren’t any other people around with him, but even if there had been, he wouldn’t have cared if he disturbed them. His one impulse to handle his frustration - jamming his left fist into his pocket while clutching a bottle of Soda Pop with his right - barely helped.

 

The source of his stress was the newly-announced slate of matchups for the second round of the tournament. Silver and Giovanni, who had won their matches using Persian and Feraligatr, respectively, were matched against each other. Matt found himself amused in a dark way by that, but when he learned of who he was to battle, all humor disappeared.

 

It was Colress. Matt had feared having to deal with a Steel-type, and knowing that he now had to go against Colress’s mighty Klinklang, his goal of pulling information on Reshiram from Kate felt further away than ever.

 

 _“Maybe I can talk to her even if I can’t reach her,”_ he mentally reasoned. His mood brightened briefly, but quickly fell again. _“She’s too famous, though. It would be like trying to get a private autograph from Trevor Hastings. Back when he was around, anyway…”_

 

Matt’s frustration with his situation abated a small amount as his mind wandered to the man he’d seen during the battle on the Magnet Train. He swore that it looked like a someone he knew from one of his favorite films, but the idea of a once-famous actor being in Team Rocket’s ranks confused him.

 

Suddenly, as he neared a corner, he could hear voices talking just around the bend. Recognizing one of them as Dino’s, he abruptly stopped and pressed himself against the wall. He knew eavesdropping on Dino’s conversation was wrong, but felt strangely nervous about passing by it.

 

“I owe you an apology, Doctor,” Dino said. “Trevenant didn’t work out the way we hoped.”

 

“It’s no big deal,” the other party to the conversation replied. “Experiments aren’t experiments if they don’t sometimes fail. We’ll just try again with another subject.”

 

_“That voice…!”_

 

Matt immediately knew that his odd bout of nerves was justified. He recognized the second voice as Colress’s, and realized that something strange was going on. Feeling a great need to know more, he edged slightly closer to the corner.

 

“Finansielle won’t be terribly pleased,” Colress continued, “but then again she’s always such a miser. Even a failed experiment produces valuable data that moves the project forward.”

 

“Is it really okay that you talk about her like that?” Dino said, somewhat shocked by what he was hearing.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” the scientist laughed, spreading his arms and tossing his coat open. “I’m just having a little fun. In the end, my work on Pokémon strength is exactly what the doctor ordered. Literally. Go ahead and release that Trevenant outside the city.”

 

All of a sudden, Matt could hear footsteps as Colress and Dino separated. One set was fading away down the hall, but the other was drawing closer.

 

_“...oh, shit!”_

 

Matt’s mind filled with panic, and he tried to move away. However, before he was even completely away from the wall, he found himself staring face-to-face with his soon-to-be second round opponent.

 

“Well, Matt, I didn’t expect to see you off the battlefield.” Colress flashed a disarming smile as he pushed up his visor, though it did little to alleviate the feeling of terrified embarrassment Matt felt. “Taking a break?”

 

“Y-yeah,” Matt stammered. “I… I went to get some Soda Pop, you know?”

 

“That stuff will rot your teeth.” Laughing, Colress stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat. When he saw Matt cringe, he said, “Please, forgive me. Just trying to make a joke. If I might ask, how is your friend, Miss Hammond?”

 

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Miss...Hammond? Who are you talking about?”

 

“That lady friend of yours with the black hair and the glasses. Jane Hammond.”

 

“You mean Nekou? I don’t know any Jane Hammond.”

 

Colress stepped back. “Nekou…? I see. She must be someone who just resembles that person I know. Jane Hammond was a scientist I met a few years ago at a function at my father’s laboratory in Unova. I thought I might get to reconnect with her.”

 

“Well…” The entire situation was getting too strange, and Matt was beginning to become desperate to escape. “I hope you manage to meet up with her again.” Extending his hand to Colress, he asked, “See you on the battlefield, I guess?”

 

Without hesitation, Colress gave Matt a hearty handshake. “Thank you, and I wish you luck later.”

 

Due to his nerves, Matt felt a sudden jolt go through his arm, causing him tighten his grip on Colress’s hand. He quickly pulled away and apologized, and though Colress assured him to not worry, as he turned and walked away he could feel sweat brought on by the entire encounter rolling down his forehead.

 

Colress, on the other hand, merely stood still with his hands in his pockets and watched Matt walk away. Once they were separated by a sufficient distance, the scientist went back around the corner, took his unfolding tablet out of his pocket and tapped its screen several times.

 

“Lady Finansielle,” he quietly said to his superior, who had materialized on the computer.

 

 _“Colress, if you’re contacting me in the middle of your little data-gathering project, something must have gone wrong.”_ Finansielle’s voice was full of irritation, though Colress sensed it wasn’t genuine. _“What went wrong?”_

 

“That fellow you’re interested in, Matt Chiaki… I think he knows something. He might have overheard me talking to Athleta’s trainer.”

 

 _“Is that seriously it?”_ Dropping her feigned anger, Finansielle smiled. _“I am not concerned about him in the least. He’s not half the man his grandfather was. There is nothing he can do that is outside of my expectations. Tell me, though, did you rat out his little girlfriend?”_

 

“I put some feelers out there, you know? I asked him about her old alias from the last time I met her. He didn’t seem to know a thing.”

 

_“As I thought, he’s totally in the dark. Don’t bother telling him, he’ll find out soon enough. Just finish your work at the Battle Hall and get ready for the mission tomorrow.”_

 

“Understood.” Colress shut off the tablet and put it away, then looked back down the hall and pushed up his visor once more. “I always do love the beauty of an experiment on an unwitting subject.”

 

-:-

 

“You can’t evade me forever! Gengar, use Toxic again!”

 

“Just watch me! Herdier, you know what to do!”

 

Morty’s Gengar spit up a ball of thick, purple sludge, but Herdier sprinted out of the way and avoided its effects. They’d been locked in this dance since their battle began, with Herdier sprinting around the battlefield while Gengar tried to bog him down using Toxic.

 

Even though she and Herdier had been holding out for some time, though, Olivia knew it couldn’t last forever. While she was working through ideas and holding her increasingly aching head, Morty suddenly changed the situation himself.

 

“Alright, Olivia, if this isn’t working, I guess it means I have to try something else. Gengar, go in and use Shadow Punch.”

 

 _“I finally wore him out!”_ Olivia gleefully thought. _“He’s making a mistake!”_ Throwing her hand forward, she ordered, “Herdier, use Crunch!”

 

When Gengar arrived in front of Herdier and began to bring his fist down, the Normal-type Pokémon simply bit through the shadows surrounding it and clasped onto the phantom himself. Herdier held Gengar with all his might, but even in the face of the critically effective move, Gengar never stopped grinning.

 

It was at that point Olivia put her hands over her mouth, gasped and realized that she, not Morty, was the one making the mistake.

 

“You won’t get away now!” Morty bellowed, his voice much louder than Olivia had gotten used to. “Toxic!”

 

Herdier released Gengar and attempted to push himself back, but both he and Olivia knew that Morty’s words were true. Gengar opened his mouth and spit up sludge once more, this time covering Herdier’s body in it. Almost instantly, Herdier began shuddering as the poison took hold over him.

 

“There’s one thing I can do about that!” Olivia declared, taking out a Poké Ball and pointing at Herdier. “Herdier, come back!”

 

“Ah, good thinking, Olivia,” Morty complimented her as she called Herdier back. “Unfortunately, I think you’ll find that I’m more than ready to do this for a long time. Send Cinccino out and let’s get started.”

 

Olivia froze. She hadn’t considered what Morty’s strategy could have been for long; the immediate conclusion she’d arrived at being that he aimed to use severe poison to help him finish off her Pokémon more quickly than usual. Never had it crossed her mind that he was trying to do the opposite, to sit back and take his time while the strength of her Pokémon slowly faded away.

 

She could only stare forward at Gengar and Morty as she felt her mind begin to weaken. Her body began to shake, and the same feeling from when she blacked out in Azalea Gym began to return.

 

 _“No, not this time!”_ Her thoughts were spoken in her own growling within her mind. She quickly turned to verbalizing her fury, saying, “I know I’ve got a way out of this! I know it! Cinccino, let’s play!”

 

Morty barely waited for Cinccino to appear from her Poké Ball before he gave his next direction to Gengar. “Alright, Gengar, use Curse.”

 

With a sharp cry, Gengar spread his arms and formed a spike of light above his head. The spike slowly drove itself down into Gengar’s body, causing him to shake and groan more and more with every bit it descended. Each inch also brought on an increasingly intense purple aura around Cinccino, indicative of the curse the move was named for taking hold.

 

“Cinccino, don’t worry,” Olivia said to reassure her Pokémon. The seeds of an idea were already taking shape in her mind. “Take it easy. Just take it easy and use Rock Blast.”

 

Overcoming the pinching feeling the curse induced in her muscles, Cinccino jumped into the air and began spinning. Five uneven spheres of energy formed into stones in her tail, which she then flung downward to buffet Gengar. Each impact forced a small grunt from the ghost, and his shadowy body showed the scrapes from them despite its composure.

 

Seconds later, Cinccino was overcome by the sensation of the curse, shuddering violently as it sapped a large deal of her strength. Morty wasn’t satisfied by just this, however, and slowly extended his arm toward Olivia.

 

“Hit Cinccino with Toxic now!”

 

With his enemy seemingly prone before him, Gengar grinned even wider, believing that he had an easy target. Just before he spit up another wave of slime, though, he saw a glint in Cinccino’s eye that made him realize he was wrong.

 

“Aqua Tail!”

 

Cinccino roared back to life and dove toward Gengar, but when he released the Toxic, she quickly twisted out of the way. The sludge sailed harmlessly past her, but she also failed to reach Gengar for her own strike and suffered the affliction of the Curse once again.

 

 _“Oh, that’s right,”_ Olivia recalled, _“Cinccino doesn’t like getting dirty.”_

 

Olivia took a step back both mentally and physically to look over her options. It would be difficult to get Cinccino in close enough for Aqua Tail to work with Toxic acting effectively as a deterrent. Gengar was immune to Tail Slap, and Bullet Seed would barely be effective against him thanks to his Poison-type. That only left Rock Blast, but Olivia was unsure if she felt confident enough that it would finish the fight. She could see the physical damage all over Gengar’s body and thought she noticed his stance weakening, but she wanted to be sure that she could win.

 

There was one other option, and before she knew it, she had subconsciously selected it and begun raising up Cinccino’s Poké Ball.

 

“Cinccino, come back!”

 

“Not bad, thinking on your feet,” Morty said, grinning gently once again. “Herdier’s still poisoned, though.”

 

“I know,” Olivia countered, flashing determination through every bit of her face she could. “But I also know you can’t use Curse again, or Gengar will take itself out! Herdier, let’s finish this!”

 

As Herdier returned to the battlefield, Morty raised his head slightly and looked downward at Olivia.

 

_“You really are pretty good, Olivia. You’ve outwitted me. With your Normal-types keeping my best moves in check, I can’t put this over the finish line, and Gengar getting worn out quickly means I can’t stall as I’d like...”_

 

Before Morty knew it, Olivia had called for Crunch and Herdier was dashing toward Gengar. He could see that Olivia was looking to him for his next move, but he had no intention of denying her the victory she had rightfully won.

 

“Gengar, you’ve fought well,” he uttered, resigning himself to defeat and beginning down the stairs before Gengar even was hit. By the time Herdier released his grip on Gengar and the ghostly Pokémon fell, the Gym Leader was already just a few feet away.

 

“I did it,” Olivia uttered in shock. Her body started to go limp in the time it took for her victory to sink in. When Herdier turned around and barked at her, the true meaning of her accomplishment finally took hold, and her strength returned in a great rush. “I did it! I won! Three Badges now!”

 

Olivia pumped her fists into the air repeatedly. Each swing brought an increasing sense of exertion, creating a self-fulfilling cycle where she felt more energy after expending some. Once she was able to bring herself down from her high, she turned to Morty, who was scratching his Gengar behind the ear.

 

“Bravo, Olivia, that was quite a show.”

 

While his trainer approached Morty, Herdier went up to Gengar. He stared up into the ghost’s eyes, and found himself greeted with what seemed to be seething hate. Moments later, though, Gengar grinned and slapped Herdier on the shoulder. He cheerfully said his name as a gesture of congratulations to a worthy opponent like the Normal-type Pokémon, while Herdier just cringed.

 

“Thank you, Morty,” Olivia said, smiling weakly. “I enjoyed it.”

 

“You definitely appear like you did. Here, this is yours.” Extending his open hand, Morty showed Olivia a Badge in the shape of a purple ghost. “The Fog Badge. You’ve proven yourself more than worthy of it, so I am honored to give it to you.”

 

Olivia was lost in the emotional weight of her victory, and as a result did not reach out immediately to claim the Badge. When she finally snapped out of her daze, she took it from Morty and stared at it in her palm.

 

 _“I know I’ll have memories of this,”_ she thought. _“Every one of these is worth remembering…”_

 

-:-

 

_“Viridian City’s Gym Leader continues his dominating performance! Will he soon put this away or will Silver be able to turn this battle around?”_

 

A gust of wind created by Giovanni’s Persian hitting Feraligatr in the chest with a Power Gem blast swept over the arena. Silver had to put up his arm to shield his eyes, but the force caused his hair and clothing to blow around violently.

 

The wind wasn’t Silver’s primary source of discomfort, though. He had his teeth so tightly clenched that the muscles in his neck were cramping up. It wasn’t something he was consciously doing, but facing his father was bringing up such intense emotion in Silver that he couldn’t help his rage.

 

“After all this time, is this all you’re capable of, boy?” Giovanni taunted his son. He was well aware of what the meeting was making Silver feel. “If you still aren’t capable of standing on my level, then I’m going to remove you from this stage.”

 

“I don’t… I don’t care what you say,” Silver growled. “You’re still only showing your strength when it’s in front of others… you’re still the same, and I’m not going to fall short after coming this far!”

 

“Actually, yes, you are. Persian, Seed Bomb.”

 

“Feraligatr, knock them away with Ice Punch!”

 

Persian rapidly spun around in a circle, kicking up a number of large, round seeds. Feraligatr attempted to bat them down by swinging his cold fists, but each one exploded as he hit it. Their force caused Feraligatr to fall behind the pace of Persian’s attack, and left him to get buffeted by the bursting seeds.

 

Unable to continue standing with his body bruised and battered by the explosions, Feraligatr groaned weakly and fell backward, hitting the ground with a great crash.

 

“No!” Silver shouted in dismay. “It can’t…”

 

“Feraligatr is unable to battle!” Kate announced from her position at mid-field. “The winners of this battle are Giovanni and Persian!”

 

“I thought it would go like this,” Giovanni coldly said, putting his left hand deep into his coat pocket and holding his hat with his right. Persian sat and meowed contently, rubbing in his victory much like his trainer was doing. “Listen, boy, your anger is clouding your judgment. Face me again when you can remain cool headed on the battlefield.”

 

Silver held up Feraligatr’s Poké Ball, but then he froze. As much as he was loathe to admit it, something about his father’s words was resonating with him. Usually, he was able to remain fairly held together when battling, but when he stepped onto the stage with Giovanni, he felt his vision for battle draining away. Subconsciously he had been well aware of how his obsession with his father had clouded his judgment, and he had to admit he knew that was why he lost.

 

Finally, after calling Feraligatr back to his Poké Ball, he mumbled, “I get it. I’ll see you next time.”

 

As Giovanni and Silver departed the stage, the former walked past Matt, who had been watching from one of the tunnels leading to the battlefield. Matt didn’t say anything, but Giovanni still stopped next to him.

 

“Don’t trust anyone,” he warned, whispering to Matt. “Least of all that next opponent of yours. Polaris is everywhere.”

 

While Giovanni walked off, Matt froze in fear. He was already nervous about facing Colress, and the decisive nature of Mako’s victory over Falkner and Trista’s victory over a hulking sailor with a Primeape didn’t help those matters at all. There also were the nagging concerns about the strange conversation he’d overheard between Colress and Dino earlier. Matt didn’t need anything more to worry about, and Giovanni’s sudden warning gave him exactly that.

 

“And now coming out for his second battle, the Psychic-type representative, Matt from Snowpoint City!”

 

It took several seconds for Matt to fully realize that Kate was calling him out. When he finally snapped back into reality, he could see Colress standing in the distance, already positioned on the far side of the stage and waiting with a smug grin on his face.

 

 _“I have to get my shit together!”_ he mentally choked, stumbling down the catwalk.

 

Up in the stands, the crowd’s cheering lessened somewhat due to Matt’s clumsy entrance. Bill and Dante cringed at the sight.

 

“If you ask me, he needs to get over his stage fright,” the elderly scientist remarked, his voice containing a hint of a joking tone.

 

“I have to admit I’ve been looking forward to this, Matt,” Colress called across the stage. “I’ve been intrigued by you since I saw fight Dahlia, not to mention that your stand against the Battle Factory was something too. I’d like to learn for myself what kind of strength you have.”

 

Matt fidgeted where he stood, repeatedly tightening his grip on his bag’s strap and breathing heavily. The pressure he felt to keep advancing was getting overwhelming. Looking at Kate both encouraged and demoralized him; never had his goal of learning about Reshiram felt both so close and so far away.

 

“Alright, trainers, send out your Pokémon!” Kate declared, throwing her hand skyward. “Let the battle begin!”

 

Resolving to take some initiative, Matt swiftly threw his Poké Ball, calling out, “Cordelia, make your mark!”

  
Colress didn’t respond to the appearance of Matt’s Sigilyph with any words. Instead, he simply lifted his hand from his pocket and gently tossed his own Poké Ball, calling forth his Klinklang in a burst of light.

 

 _“Alright, so I don’t have any move a Steel-type doesn’t resist,”_ Matt thought as the noise from the crowd began to lessen, _“so what are my options here? If I look at it objectively… the only thing there is is to try crippling it.”_ Crossing his arms, Matt called out, “Cordelia, see if you can freeze it. Ice Beam!”

 

“You can weather that, Klinklang,” Colress said. He had once again unfolded his tablet, and was tapping its screen as he watched the Pokémon. “Take it and then use Shift Gear.”

 

Wobbling slightly forward in the air, Klinklang braced itself. Cordelia’s Ice Beam hit it in the outer rim surrounding its body, and though the cold ran through Klinklang, its recovery was swift. It then began spinning its gears at an escalated speed, surrounding itself with a silvery glow.

 

 _“Klinklang’s raised its attack power and dramatically increased its speed!”_ Though he had knowledge of what Shift Gear’s effect was, Matt found himself mentally appreciating the announcer’s note. _“Will that increased strength spell a rapid end to Matt’s challenge?”_

 

“If freezing didn’t work, maybe flinching will! Cordelia, use Air Slash!”

 

“Just use Shift Gear again, Klinklang.”

 

Cordelia swung her wings to direct blades of air at Klinklang, but the Steel-type Pokémon simply rotated its gears even faster than ever, breaking the Air Slash apart.

 

Groaning, Matt tilted his head back and ran his hand through his hair. He realized that not only had he been right to fear Colress in the tournament, but the truth of his situation was worse than he had ever figured. None of the moves he had at his disposal could do much to Klinklang, and it was exponentially stronger than it was when the fight started.

 

Matt looked up at Cordelia and saw that she was looking back at him. Realizing that his Pokémon needed his help gave him enough strength to make another command. “I guess you could try weakening it with Psychic, Cordelia. Give it a shot.”

 

This time, Colress didn’t even give an order in response to Matt’s. Grinning and tapping on the screen of his tablet, he stood by as the purple light from Cordelia’s eye surrounded his Pokémon.

 

After several seconds of the light pulling at Klinklang’s body, Colress finally said, “I think I’ve analyzed you enough. You aren’t living up to what I’d hoped for. Klinklang, put an end to this with one shot! Wild Charge!”

 

Klinklang abruptly stopped rotating its gears, causing its body to shake. It slowly tilted back so its gaze would be angled directly at Cordelia, and even though the expressions on its two faces didn’t change, Matt understood the passion that was flowing through it. One more glance from Klinklang to Kate forced him to resign himself to his fate, and he shut his eye.

 

As bright yellow electricity enveloped Klinklang, it set its stare evenly with Cordelia’s. Like her trainer, she could see the burning spirit in the Steel-type Pokémon’s mechanical eyes. By that point she had already come to understand how little her moves could do to it. Mimicking her trainer, she closed her eye and waited for the crushing blow of Wild Charge to come.

 

When Klinklang collided with Cordelia, the electricity in its body discharged, causing an explosion. Cordelia was flung down to the floor like a rocket, her body sparking with the energy that had just been used to cut her down.

 

“Sigilyph is unable to continue battling! The winners of this round are Colress and Klinklang!”

 

Even though he had been hoping to win, something about hearing Kate declare him the loser had a cathartic effect. Matt’s mind eased, even if only slightly since the audience was once again cheering at a deafening volume.

 

“Matt!” Colress called across the stage, prompting him to lift his head. “I know it was quick, but I have to say thank you for facing me. I aim to discover what brings out the true strength of Pokémon. In a way, that makes us kind of similar, I suppose. Battling you puts me one step closer to that goal.”

 

Matt found himself somewhat lost over Colress’s rambling. Not wishing to pursue the subject while he was still in the middle of the crowd’s attention, though, he opted to quietly recall Cordelia and nod to his victorious foe.

 

“You’re welcome, I guess. Good luck in the next rounds.”

 

Up in the stands, Bill said to Dante, “I have to admit I’m a little disappointed. I was kind of looking forward to seeing him battle my sister.”

 

“Sometimes wishes don’t come true,” Dante replied. “I know he’s capable after what I saw at the Battle Cafe. I guess the one-on-one format just caused him to come up short.”

 

-:-

 

Though it was a sunny and clear, the air in Ecruteak had gotten colder as the day went on. While walking to the Battle Hall from the Gym with her friends, Olivia found herself thanking the luck that had led her to her new, warm coat.

 

A puff of air floated from her mouth with every breath she took, and her hand shivered around her Pokégear. She wasn’t paying much attention to the cold, though. Her attention was instead fixated on the photo she had just taken with the device, in which she posed with Audrey, Monroe and Avril to show off her new Fog Badge.

 

“You did… you did really well, Olivia.” For once, Monroe’s stuttering wasn’t because of his nerves, but instead because of the chilly air. “Like I said before, I didn’t have too much trouble beating Morty, but lots of people say they do.”

 

A slight grin played onto Olivia’s face as she looked toward him. “Thanks. I think I just got lucky having the right Pokémon to use against him. Those status moves of his could have been really hard to deal with if my Pokémon could get damaged by his actual attacks too.”

 

“Cinccino and Herdier did all the lifting, don’t fool yourself,” Avril remarked, walking with her arms crossed behind her head. “I don’t know why you didn’t just go with Dewott third. Mr. Mime was at a disadvantage from the start.”

 

“Stop being such a buzzkill. So I didn’t do it perfectly.”

 

While Avril and Olivia glared at each other through the sides of their eyes, Audrey stepped closer to them and said, “I think Avril has a point this time, Olivia. Was something wrong with Mr. Mime that he wouldn’t fight, though?”

 

“You know…” Olivia put away the Pokégear and took out Mr. Mime’s Poké Ball, then stared sadly into its surface. “I’m not sure. I thought he would enjoy battling more after the Goldenrod Gym and Battle Cafe.”

 

“Do you want to know what’s wrong with Mr. Mime? I can tell you.”

 

Olivia, Avril, Monroe and Audrey all jumped. None of them had noticed Nikolai approach them, let alone realized that he was walking alongside them.

 

“Who are you?” Audrey blurted out.

 

“Calm down,” Olivia said, “I know him.” Turning to face Nikolai, she asked, “What are you doing here? What’s wrong with Mr. Mime?”

 

“I will answer your questions one at a time. First, I was traveling outside the city when I saw Polaris capturing Pokémon outside of Mt. Mortar. I followed them into Ecruteak but then I lost their trail and while I was walking around I could hear your Mr. Mime’s voice…”

 

“Does he always talk this fast?” Audrey whispered to Olivia.

 

“You get used to it.”

 

“But I’m getting ahead of myself,” Nikolai continued rambling, seemingly unaware that Audrey and Olivia had been talking about him. “Please, let Mr. Mime out of the Poké Ball.”

 

Seeing no reason not to comply with Nikolai’s request, Olivia pressed the button on the center of the ball, causing it to pop open and release Mr. Mime. Almost immediately upon being summoned, he looked around at his surroundings, then slumped to the ground once again.

 

“I can hear the anguish…” Extending his hand toward Mr. Mime, Nikolai intoned, “Tell me what is causing you such pain. Transcend the confines of time and space.”

 

“What’s he doing?” Avril wondered, while the four of them watched Nikolai’s eyes and palm begin to glow.

 

“He’s got some kind of powers or something,” answered Olivia. “You’d probably have to ask Matt for the details, but he says he can hear the thoughts of Pokémon.”

 

For the next minute, Olivia, Avril, Monroe and Audrey watched in awe as Nikolai stood rigidly still, occasionally mumbling something as if he was conversing with Mr. Mime. Once he was done, he lowered his hand, causing his eyes to return to normal.

 

“Mr. Mime no longer wishes to battle with you,” he flatly said.

 

Olivia could feel her heart sink when she heard this news. “But why? I don’t understand!”

 

“Mr. Mime was taken from somewhere quite far from here to be given away as a prize at the Game Corner,” Nikolai explained, his disgust evident in his tone. “At first he did not mind working with you, but losing to a Fighting-type like Hitmonchan at the Battle Cafe caused him to become demoralized. He couldn’t fight at the Gym because he now wishes to go back home to where he came from.”

 

“I-Is…” Unable to speak without facing her Pokémon, Olivia walked around to stand in front of Mr. Mime and stared deeply into his eyes. “Is that true, Mr. Mime?”

 

“Mime, mime…” the Pokémon said sadly.

 

“Olivia, w-what will you do?”

 

Olivia waited to respond to Monroe, allowing herself time to consider what her possible options were. She didn’t need long, though. Almost immediately one particular idea jumped to the front of her mind, where it stayed.

 

Standing back up straight, she finally answered, “I’ll help Mr. Mime go back home. He can tell me when we reach the right place.”

 

“You’re doing the right thing, Olivia,” Nikolai happily said.

 

None of the five assembled humans, nor the Pokémon with them, noticed that they were being watched. A pair of black eyes with a cloud of yellow wool behind them were peering out from the grass near the road.

 

“Reep…”

 

-:-

 

A deafening roar of a gasp filled the air of the Battle Hall as the final match reached its climax. Colress’s Klinklang and Trista’s Kingdra were locked in a close struggle, twisting around each other as they looked for openings to attack each other.

 

Both of the trainers were coming off of strong performances in the third round. Much like his fights against the bodybuilder’s Swalot and Matt’s Sigilyph, Colress had an easy time against Giovanni thanks to the vast type advantage Klinklang held over Persian. Though Persian had put in plenty of effort, and did manage to at least put up a fight using Dark Pulse, he couldn’t keep up with Klinklang after the Steel-type had boosted itself with Shift Gear. As for Trista, her battle with Mako had been the closest of the entire tournament to that point. Mako’s Jolteon attacked hard and fast like he had in the previous rounds, but Kingdra’s bulky body was able to endure Jolteon’s electrical attacks so she could wear him down.

 

In their current fight, Klinklang was gradually overcoming Kingdra’s attempts to escape its attacks thanks to the power of Shift Gear granting it more speed. The two Pokémon continued to jockey for position over each other, but Klinklang was edging Kingdra out.

 

“You’re doing just fine, Klinklang,” Colress said, tapping his tablet’s screen. His visor was recording the battle and streaming the data directly to the device. “I’d like to try to finish this up now, though. Wild Charge!”

 

Trista clenched her teeth, and a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. She hadn’t expected Klinklang to pose such a challenge. “Dodge and see if you can stop it with Surf, Dorothy!”

 

Klinklang cloaked itself in electricity and rushed at Dorothy, but the Kingdra managed to twist away again, though she only escaped by a razor’s edge margin. She took the opportunity presented by Klinklang slowing down to wash a tidal wave of water over it.

 

While watching Klinklang shake the water off, Colress noticed the leftover electricity still on it sparking through the drops. Seeing this gave him an idea, and he smiled.

 

“I know the path to victory, Klinklang. Use Shift Gear again.”

 

Fully recovering from the shock of Dorothy’s Surf, Klinklang sharply turned around and accelerated the rotation of its gears even more, further elevating its attacking power and speed.

 

Trista narrowed her eyes and allowed an annoyed grunt to escape her throat. She knew very well what Colress was capable of once Klinklang had boosted itself so many times over, and she also knew that allowing Klinklang to get close would be too much of a risk.

 

“You’ve got to keep Klinklang at bay, Dorothy!” Trista warned. “Hold it back with Surf!”

 

Colress’s smile became a little bit wider once Trista’s words hit his ears. Pushing up his visor, he immediately said, “I know you’re a Coordinator too, so watch this combination move. Klinklang, dive right into the Surf while you use Wild Charge!”

 

Dorothy surrounded her body with water, and from there another powerful wave took shape. This time, Klinklang did not make any effort to avoid it. Instead, the Steel-type Pokémon simply threw another of its electrically-charged tackles straight into the swell.

 

Klinklang was able to push about halfway through the surge of water before the current became too strong for it to counter. That didn’t stop what Colress had been aiming to do, though; in fact, it was exactly what he had hoped for. The electricity from Wild Charge reacted with the water and flowed through it, creating a deadly trap for Dorothy. The entire hall lit up with the light from the electrical cage, and the Kingdra could be heard crying out from within it.

 

Seconds later, the water dissipated, causing the electrical cage to collapse. In the midst of the still-sparking droplets, Dorothy reeled back, let out a sickly groan and fell down to the floor. Trista was left in shock at how quickly her fortunes had turned.

 

“Kingdra is unable to continue battling!” Kate announced. “The winners of this round and of the Battle Hall tournament… Colress and Klinklang!”

 

The crowd went wild, having been whipped into a frenzy by the non-stop, fast-paced battles that had unfolded. Their praise showered down on Colress and Klinklang like a waterfall, and while Klinklang robotically but cheerfully chattered its pleasure, his trainer scoffed at the attention.

 

 _“Of course they love me,”_ he thought, once again pushing up his visor. _“I’m a genius beyond compare!”_

 

Not everyone in the Battle Hall shared the general mood over Colress’s victory. Trista, though she felt disappointment as she left the stage, wasn’t upset over her loss. Both Matt and Giovanni, however, felt misgivings over the situation, but for different reasons. In Matt’s case, it was because he was still unsure of what Colress’s motives were, as well as his continuing frustration over having not been able to reach Kate. His mind had been obsessively focused on Reshiram following his loss, and as a result he had barely paid attention to any of the battles before the final round.

 

Giovanni, on the other hand, knew exactly what was driving Colress, or at least had a strong hunch about it. The presence of a Polaris member at the Battle Hall worried him, especially after the betrayal of Thorton to their side. He trusted in the abilities of his subordinates to monitor all of Polaris’s activity, but the feeling of powerlessness he felt immediately at the tournament enraged him. All he could do was pull his hat down over his eyes and wait.

 

Out on the stage, Kate approached Colress and produced a medicine contained within a yellow box with a spray nozzle on it.

 

“Congratulations on winning the Battle Hall tournament,” she said to him.

 

“You’re very welcome, my dear.”

 

“As you know, the next step in your quest is a battle with me, the Hall Matron. If you can best me you can receive the medal for the Battle Hall. In order to make this a fair fight, here’s a Full Restore to put your Klinklang back in tip-top shape.”

 

Kate handed Colress the medicine, then turned and began walking toward the empty box on one side of the battlefield. By the time she arrived, Colress had already sprayed it on his Pokémon, instantly revitalizing its strength. Klinklang floated alongside Colress, clicking away as it waited for its final fight to begin.

 

“Alright, Colress, it’s time for the grand finale to get underway! You won your way through all your opponents with your Steel-type Pokémon to stand before me. Only one question remains… do you have the star power to shine the brightest of all? Only one can come out on top as this Battle Hall’s superstar. Are you worthy of that spotlight? Show me right here, right now!”

 

_“The Battle Hall’s Frontier Brain challenge! The challenger Colress… versus the Hall Matron Kate! Let the battle begin!”_

 

“Come on out, my dear superstar! Take the stage and show off your brilliance!”

 

The crowd had already been energized by the announcer’s words, but when Kate threw her Poké Ball, they erupted. A Venusaur stomped out of the light of the ball and roared, his voice loud enough to even quiet the audience.

 

Bill and Dante both found their attention drawn to a leather strap that was tied onto Kate’s Venusaur’s front left leg. They could see a gray stone bearing a red and blue helix set into it.

 

“I knew it!” Bill exclaimed. “Kate has the Key Stone in her headset… and Venusaur has a Mega Stone. That means she’ll Mega Evolve it!”

 

“Sounds like you’re going to get a chance to see your first Mega Evolution today,” Dante said, wryly winking at him.

 

The two scientists in the stands weren’t the only ones who were keenly aware of what Kate and Venusaur possessed. Colress knew what the stone meant as well.

 

 _“I get to see a Mega Evolution and battle it head-on… working with Polaris really has paid off for my research!”_ After gesturing to prompt Klinklang forth, Colress said to Kate, “I can see the Venusaurite your Venusaur is wearing, and I’ve seen the Key Stone on your headset. I know what those mean, so don’t take it easy! Show me everything you’ve got!”

 

“I have every intention of showing you all my talents.” Kate touched two fingers of her left hand to the Key Stone, causing both it and Venusaur’s Mega Stone to begin glowing. “Our ultimate showstopper… Venusaur, Mega Evolve!”

 

Bright light flooded the entire stadium, causing much of the crowd to have to cover their eyes. Even the losing trainers in the backstage lounge, who were watching on closed-circuit television, had to look away. Venusaur’s mighty roar once again echoed through the hall during the entire process.

 

The light suddenly broke away, revealing that Venusaur had transformed. His body had gained a significant amount of bulk, mainly to support the jungle-like growths sprouted around the giant flower on his back. Smaller pink flowers had appeared on both his forehead and rear. To conclude the Mega Evolution, the helix sigil that both the Key Stone and Mega Stone bore briefly lighted up over Venusaur. The crowd instantly began cheering more loudly than ever, and even Bill and Dante were too fascinated by the Mega Evolution to be bothered by the noise.

 

Colress looked down at his tablet, where he could see energy readings dramatically increasing. “It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for, this energy…” Though he found it difficult, he managed to force down his excitement enough to engage in battle, telling Klinklang, “Get started with Shift Gear!”

 

“Oh no you don’t!” Kate intervened with a sweep of her arm. “I know how you do this. Venusaur, stop it with Leech Seed!”

 

Klinklang started to rotate its gears at a higher speed, just as it had done in all the other fights, but Kate had a tactic up her sleeve to stop it. A light appeared in the center of Venusaur’s giant flower and fired diagonally toward the Steel-type, and once they hit, the lights faded to reveal large seeds. These seeds then sprouted vines that wrapped around Klinklang’s body, jamming it from using Shift Gear. Moments later, Klinklang shuddered and briefly glowed green as the vines drained some of its energy.

 

“That’s clever,” Colress said, grinning mischievously. “Of course, I should expect no less from a Frontier Brain, especially a superstar like yourself.”

 

Kate knew that Colress was trying to butter her up. Instead of saying as much, though, she pretended to fall for it by returning his grin and saying, “I guess you really know what you’ve gotten into.”

 

“But the question is, do you?” Having fallen for Kate’s deception, Colress became more openly cocky than ever. “Klinklang, use Wild Charge to escape!”

 

Though it was still unable to rotate its gears, Klinklang was able to throw another of its electrically-charged tackles. By the time it collided with Venusaur, the electricity had burned away the seeds and vines. The impact caused Klinklang to be thrown back, but Venusaur barely shifted due to his resistance to Electric-type attacks.

 

“Alright, Venusaur, time for the reprisal act! Leech Seed!”

 

Klinklang hadn’t pulled away in time, and as a result, Venusaur was able to cover it in Leech Seeds again at nearly point-blank range. The Steel-type Pokémon reeled back as strength was sapped from its body into Venusaur, who roared powerfully.

 

“Did you really think that would work when I just showed you how I can break out of it?” The stage lights glistened on Colress’s visor as he thrust his finger forward and called out, “Wild Charge!”

 

Colress was too caught up in his confidence to notice the wicked smirk that had come onto Kate’s face. Knowing she had full control of the battle, she stood back and didn’t give Venusaur any orders. He had a perfect grasp on what she was doing, and with full trust in his trainer, he stood fast against the charging Klinklang.

 

While the vines fell off of Klinklang for the second time, Kate decided to make her move. “Venusaur, Frenzy Plant!” she cried out.

 

Venusaur’s body became outlined by green light seconds before he stomped the ground with incredible force. The ground began to shake as his power flowed through it.

 

All of a sudden, giant roots erupted from the floor beneath where Klinklang was floating. It had no time to even try to move. As a result, the roots tore over it and became entangled in its gears, once again crippling its ability to rotate them.

 

The audience collectively gasped, but Colress remained cool and confident. “I don’t think you’ll overwhelm me with a type disadvantage. And shall I remind you that Frenzy Plant makes your Pokémon need to rest? You just gave me an opening! Klinklang, Wild Charge!”

 

Klinklang grumbled in a mechanical fashion, then started to charge its body with electricity and attempted to move. The vines of Frenzy Plant were far thicker than their Leech Seed counterparts, however. As a result, Klinklang couldn’t break free this time. It struggled mightily, but all it could accomplish was making its body shudder and spark.

 

“What?” For the first time, Colress’s cockiness faded. He was reduced to a wide-eyed wreck with his mouth hung open. “I can’t break through?”

 

“That’s what’ll happen when you underestimate me.” Kate accentuated her cheerful taunt with a wink. “Feel free to try and get out of that, though. With how thick those Frenzy Plant vines are, you’re going to need all the luck you can get.”

 

Colress lowered his head slightly. Though he was loathe to admit it, he knew that Kate was right. Without its usual mobility, Klinklang was crippled.

 

“Give it all you’ve got, Klinklang!” Colress called up to his immobilized Pokémon. “Throw all your power into Shift Gear!”

 

Though it put as much strength as it could into trying to move, Klinklang could manage nothing beyond a ragged shaking. Its voice came out in a weak gurgle as it did so.

 

All around him, Colress could hear the audience beginning to become riled up once again. The meaning of this wasn’t lost on him - they sensed that the victory of their beloved Frontier Brain was near, and he knew it just as well as they did.

 

“Klinklang, you’ve got one last chance to turn this around,” he advised. “Take it up to a Gear Grind! See if that works!”

 

As soon as it heard Colress’s order, Klinklang abruptly reversed the direction it was attempting to rotate in. It didn’t amount to much, though, for even though Klinklang managed to move a slight bit more, the vines held fast.

 

“Gear Grind, one more time!”

 

Kate adjusted her glasses and smugly said in response, “It’s the end of the show. Venusaur, Earthquake!”

 

While Klinklang continued to hopelessly try to move, Venusaur reared back onto his hind legs, then brought down his massive weight onto the stage. The resulting shockwave traveled through the floor before being channeled up through the vines, which allowed it to violently impact Klinklang’s body. The Steel-type Pokémon was torn from the vines’ grasp by the force and thrown into the air before coming crashing down onto the ground.

 

 _“That’s it!”_ the announcer declared over the thunderous roaring of the crowd. _“The Battle Hall tournament is over, and the victor of the final battle… is the Hall Matron, Kate!!”_

 

For several moments, Colress stood still and silent. Once the shock of his stunning reversal of fortune sank in, he sighed contently.

 

 _“I got enough data, Finansielle will be pleased,”_ he thought while tapping the screen of his tablet a few more times before putting it away in his coat.

 

Klinklang slowly picked itself up, but stopped when it felt Colress’s hand on the top of its largest gear. It uttered a noise of defeat, but the scientist didn’t stop smiling.

 

“You did well enough, sweeping through all those other rounds,” he said. “Can’t win ‘em a…”

 

Colress was abruptly cut off when he felt his arm being pulled upward. Kate was standing next to him, having approached without notice, and was now showing him off to the crowd.

 

“A big hand for our tournament winner, Colress!” she beamed, inciting the crowd even further. Colress could only stare at her, dumbfounded. “He didn’t beat me, but he put on a great show for you all, so show him your love!”

 

“I appreciate your sense of theatricality,” he finally said, though he could barely hear himself speak above the crowd’s cheering.

 

“Thank you,” Kate answered, “And I do mean it, I enjoyed facing you.”

 

-:-

 

A short while later, Matt was leaving the arena. He was by himself, but cared little, preferring to remain lost in his thoughts than to be carrying on a conversation. With his head low and his hands firmly planted in the pockets of his coat, he was in a fog over once again failing to reach his goal.

 

“Sometimes I wonder why I even keep doing this,” he mused out loud as he walked. “These trainers are way outside my capability, to say nothing of the Frontier Brains themselves…”

 

“But you beat Dahlia, no?”

 

Matt froze when he heard Dante’s voice, and it was only then that he realized that he had completely failed to notice the elderly scientist standing with Bill. In fact, he had nearly walked past them altogether.

 

“I-I-I…” The sudden meeting had thrown Matt, and he found himself struggling to speak as a result. “I don’t know, I guess that’s true. It just feels shitty to be on such a losing streak, you know?”

 

“It’s good to know one’s limits,” Bill offered, scratching his chin. “Believe me, I know. I’ve lost whole weeks at a time working without knowing when to stop.”

 

“So have I,” Matt playfully shot back. “My grandfather used to have to carry me back to my dorm in Rustboro all the time. I’d fall asleep everywhere else while overworking myself.”

 

“Fucking hell, you sure are full of new stories all the time.”

  
Nekou’s voice attracted the attention of Matt, Bill and Dante to the direction of the Battle Hall’s entrance. The other two groups had since reunited, and Nekou was approaching them with Bunny, Olivia, Audrey, Monroe, Avril and Nikolai behind her.

 

“You heard that?” Matt chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I didn’t take care of myself too well…”

 

“Judging by your mood I’m guessing you lost.”

 

“You always have been able to read me pretty well, I guess,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. Shifting his gaze slightly, he asked Olivia, “And how did you do at the Gym?”

 

“See for yourself,” Olivia said with a broad smile. She took her Pokégear out of her pocket and showed the photograph of herself with the Fog Badge to her friends. “And guess what, Minccino evolved into Cinccino during the battle too!”

 

“Ah, well done, Olivia,” Dante complimented. “You’ve always kept on impressing me, ever since we met. Your drive reminds me of my own daughter… she used to be such a hard worker…”

 

“Oh boy, here he goes with one of his stories again…” Nekou mumbled, rolling her eyes. “Bunny, tell them what you found.”

 

Bunny drew a sharp, irritated breath, then took a step forward and said, “There was something written on the walls of the Burned Tower’s basement in the ancient Tenganist language, but… it was incomplete. Broken apart. It’s going to need some time to be translated, and even then, it won’t tell us the whole story.”

 

“You wrote it down, right?”

 

“Come on, Matt, you know me,” Bunny groaned. “Of course I did. Working on my own, though, it won’t be a fast process.”

 

“You know, Bunny…” Bill interjected, “I’ve done some research into into Tenganist history myself. Our mother used to be one of the Kimono Girls, so it interests me. Think you could give me a look at what you found sometime?”

 

“I…”

 

“I thought you were going to ask that flower girl to be your...ahem...assistant?”

 

Bill’s face flushed from Mako’s joke, as his older sister approached alongside Kate. Both of them were wearing wry grins. When Bunny realized the meaning of what Mako said, she turned red as well.

 

“Don’t get the wrong idea!” Bunny fumbled.

 

“Mako, I wish you wouldn’t joke like that…”

  
Instead of backing off, Mako laughed and threw her arm around her brother, making him cringe. “You know it’s all in good fun, Bill. Maybe you’d loosen up a little if you had someone looking after you.”

 

Sensing an opportunity to cause mischief, Nekou slid in with the same sneaky expression Mako had, adding, “Yeah, listen to your sister.”

 

“Two of you now?!”

 

While Nekou and Mako teased Bill, Matt approached Kate. “Why are you here?”

 

“To talk to you about Reshiram, silly,” Kate said with a gentle, weary smile. “I know you’re wondering how I know about that right now. Us Frontier Brains talk a lot, so I heard you were coming my way from Lyra.”

 

After making a mental note to thank Lyra if he ever saw her again, Matt asked Kate, “So what is it? Are you able to tell me anything?”

 

“I’m the Hall Matron!” Kate laughed. “I’m a star who’s been around the world! Of course I can tell you.” Relaxing her body and lowering her voice, she explained, “It’s something I learned when I was performing in Unova. I think the legend went something like this… the king of Unova in ancient times had two sons, twin princes who were greatly admired by their subjects. One prince sought to build a world based on the truth, and believed in this cause with all his heart. One day, his dedication to knowledge and truth caused a mysterious white orb to appear before him.”

 

“The Light Stone?” Matt guessed.

 

“That’s what it’s called now. The prince did not know he was even looking for it - it was as if the Light Stone found him, not the other way around. Confirming the prince’s dedication to the righteousness of truth, the Light Stone transformed, giving rise to Reshiram. From that day forward, Reshiram served at the prince’s side, and the truths the prince sought would reveal themselves in Reshiram’s flames.”

 

“That’s all stuff we already know, though,” Bunny blankly said to Matt while rubbing her fingers on her forehead.

 

“Actually, no, it’s not,” he replied, lowering his head and running his hand over his rough chin. “I caught one detail I hadn’t heard before. From the sound of it, that Light Stone doesn’t actually have a fixed location. It sounds like the prince found it because he wanted to, not because he tracked down its actual location.”

 

“That’s the way I interpret it,” Kate agreed. “Of course, it’s an old legend. You don’t really know how much of it is true, but I hope it was at least helpful.”

 

“I think so. Thanks for taking the time to tell me.”

 

-:-

 

Viridian City’s nighttime skyline cast a vivid glow through the towering windows of Gabriella’s office on the top floor of the Angel Corporation’s building, especially in the crystal-clear waters of her pool in the suite. The bright colors of the neon signs and spotlights glittered over her body and bobbed hair as she calmly and deliberately pushed her way from one end of the pool to the other.

 

The quiet in the room was broken when the grand doors leading inside creaked open.

 

“President Bouchard, I’ve come as per your req…” Dominic said as he entered the office. When he realized that Gabriella was in the pool and staring straight at him, he flushed and tried to hide his eyes. “Please forgive me! I didn’t…”

 

Gabriella laughed and playfully splashed the water. “Oh come on, Dominic, you have three kids. It ain’t like this is something you haven’t seen before.”

 

“With my wife, not my boss!”

 

“Alright, calm down. I’m sorry.” Gabriella swam over to where she had a neatly folded robe placed, climbed from the water, and slipped it on. She then sat down at the pool’s edge and said, “You can look now.”

 

Dominic was hesitant to look at her, so he first peeked out of the corner of his eye. He only turned when he realized she was out of the water. “Bit late for a swim, isn’t it?”

 

“A nice dip is a good thing after a hard day’s work,” she answered, sipping at a cup of tea that had been next to the robe. “Cools the body down, clears the mind.”

 

“I wish you would have warned me before you called me up here.” Dominic sighed, then asked, “Why did you call me anyway?”

 

“Look on my desk over there, see that case?” Gabriella gestured toward her dark wooden desk, on which a metallic silver briefcase was resting. “Go look in there.”

 

Without a word, Dominic followed his boss’s orders. He walked across the room to the desk, which bore the same logo of the letter ‘A’ within a halo that was on the bottom of Gabriella’s pool, and pressed his thumb against the scanner on the case to open it. Within it was a stack of papers.

 

“Those are the documents I need Matt Chiaki to sign to complete the Angel Corporation’s licensing of his ALEA system and officiate the beginning of the prototype construction in Roseridge City. Since I know you’re going to see your daughter in Olivine City, I want you to deliver those papers to him and get them finished up.”

 

“I can do that, President Bouchard. Leave it to me.”

 

“Good. Oh, before I forget, I slipped in a little gift for Helena. See that red button in the corner? Press it.”

 

Dominic quickly located the button within the case and pressed it. Once he did, the tray holding the papers flipped up into the case’s lid, revealing something hidden beneath. Almost instantly, Dominic’s eyes widened.”

 

“A-Are you sure we can have this?” he stuttered. “This is something very important! Shouldn’t someone who works for the company have this?”

 

“It’s better that a good kid like Helena use it. We can get data from it regardless, so why should it rot not being used by someone who would really want it?”

 

“Thank you, President Bouchard! I’ll make sure to tell her how kind and generous you’ve been!”

 

“Stop trying to be so proper. Lighten up, or I might invite you to swim with me.”

 

Though Gabriella had been joking, her comment was enough to get Dominic to do what she wanted by relaxing his body.

 

-:-

 

The members of Team Rocket had set up a camp around their car on the outskirts of Ecruteak City. While their subordinates sat nearby and ate by a fire, Giovanni and Ariana were sharing a bottle of champagne while Rosalie smoked her pipe. Both women noticed the way Giovanni was staring emptily out into the trees, though they also both hesitated to be the one to address it first.

 

“There something wrong?” Ariana eventually asked, deciding to take the plunge herself. “This isn’t like you.”

 

“Something that that kid said to me at the Battle Hall has been eating at me,” he said without turning his head to face them. “He said I still only show my true strength when it’s in front of others.”

 

“And since when do you listen to what he says?” Rosalie scoffed between drags on her pipe. “Hell, I still remember when I pulled him out of you, Ari. Kid was screaming like a little bitch. Always figured we all stopped listening to him at that point.”

 

“That’s the thing,” Giovanni uttered, “in the past I think I would just see it as more of his whining. Right now, though, it bothers me. With everything that’s happening, I wonder if he’s right. I should be using my full strength at all times right now.”

 

“I don’t see anything wrong with that…” Ariana said. “What has you so worked up over it? Is it that Silver said it?”

 

Unwilling to admit his concern for Silver’s words, Giovanni instead reached into his pocket and removed a Poké Ball, which he handed over to Rosalie.

 

“What’s this?” the scientist asked, keeping her pipe held in her mouth.

 

“Keep him safe tomorrow. I don’t want him to be in the middle of this.”

 

-:-

 

The public areas of Ecruteak’s Pokémon Center had largely emptied out by the nighttime hours. Only the nurse and occupants of a few scattered tables were still around.

 

The quiet didn’t bother Matt, though. He was sitting at one of the videophones in the lobby, wearing his eyepatch and night clothes despite the fact that he was conducting a business call with Gabriella.

 

“I’ve sent an Angel Corporation suit toward Olivine to deliver the papers to you,” she explained. “He’s someone you know already. Can you guess who it is?” Gabriella didn’t even allow Matt a chance to think about it before revealing, “It’s Dominic! I’m sure you guys will be glad to see each other again!”

 

“Oh, you bet,” Matt said, grimacing. “I’ll get everything signed, cut and printed as soon as I can. Thanks for backing my project.”

 

“No prob, it’s nothing. What good would my money be if I wasn’t putting it towards helping people? But whatever. I’ll see you soon.”

 

Gabriella hung up, causing her image to disappear from the screen. Once she was gone, Matt stood up, took a deep breath, turned around and started to walk back toward the hotel area of the Pokémon Center. He hadn’t gone far, though, when he caught Nekou sitting at one of the tables out of the corner of his eye. She was alone, reading something on her computer while sipping at a cup of tea.

 

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked, causing her to jump as he approached.

 

“Stop fucking sneaking up on people, for one,” she said sarcastically. “I’m just reading a book and enjoying some tea. Relaxing. You know, why don’t you try it?”

 

“Is that an invitation?”

 

“Consider it one.”

 

Matt hesitated. He was caught off guard by Nekou actually asking him to stay. Sensing that something was wrong as he sat down, he asked her, “What’s going on? This isn’t like you.”

 

“The fuck are you talking about?” she demanded, raising her eyebrow.

 

“Inviting me to sit down while you’re having tea and reading. You’ve never done that before.”

 

Nekou’s fingers tensed around the handle of her teacup. Though she hadn’t planned out the way the conversation had gone, she realized that he was right. She did, on some level, want him to sit down.

 

“Fine, you got me,” she said with a sigh. She closed her computer and took a deep breath before continuing, “I’m worried about tomorrow. You know, Polaris’s speech and all.”

 

“I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of.” Even though she knew Matt meant well, Nekou couldn’t help but cringe at how ignorant he was of the truth she knew. “We’re minding our own business. If we keep our noses to ourselves, why would they bother us?”

 

“Forgive me for saying this, but what the fuck is wrong with you?! We’re likely number one on Polaris’s shit list after what happened in Goldenrod City!” Nekou expected Matt to flinch when she slammed her fist on the table, but he did not. She took the brief pause to note the irony in what she said. “And besides, do you really trust what someone like Ghetsis says? He’s dangerous, very, very dangerous.”

 

“Honestly…” Matt slunk down in his seat. “What does it even matter? This whole thing with Reshiram and the Frontier Society, it’s all a farce I’m dragging myself through to avoid admitting how shitty my existence is. Ghetsis can’t do anything to me I don’t intend to do to myself later.”

 

In that instant, Nekou’s emotion toward Matt turned from anger to pity. She could read the hopelessness in every inch of his face, from the wrinkles around his tired mouth to the glassed-over look in his one visible eye. It was then that she understood the exact meaning of why Matt was challenging the Fronter Society’s facilities instead of just seeking out conversation with the Frontier Brains - he was using the competitions as a form of self-validation.

 

“You need to take care of yourself more,” she finally said, her voice becoming gentle and compassionate. “This isn’t living, dragging yourself through each day. You need to find something that motivates you to truly want to keep going.”

 

“I don’t know anymore… will you help me, please?”

 

“Doesn’t that go without saying?” Nekou automatically replied, her instincts running well ahead of her mind. When she caught up to herself, she quickly added, “Just make sure you have my back too.”

 

“You’ve supported me through so much already, so there’s no other answer I can give. Of course I’m going to stick by you. If there’s one thing I do right it’s that I’m loyal to my friends.”

 

In response to this, Nekou silently drew her teacup back up to her lips and sipped the hot, aromatic liquid.

  
  


**END of CHAPTER 18**

 

 


	19. The Weight of the World (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Matt and the others learn the truth behind the Oberon and its connection to the Tenganist king AZ, Ghetsis launches Polaris’s operation with his major speech. At the climax of the event, Ghetsis heads to Bell Tower, where a final battle between Team Rocket and Team Plasma takes place.

And now what you’ve all been waiting for.

 

Just be warned, this chapter gets pretty intense. People don’t all make it out okay.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 19:** The Weight of the World (Part 1)

 

-:-

 

Isolated deep within the Sinjoh Ruins, a single chamber of the cave had been turned into a relatively furnished room. Though it still had the general appearance of a cave, the occupant had made a sort of home there. The floor was covered with a blue-and-white rug and  a bed, table and bookcase had been set against the walls. A bowl of fruit on the table and two posters hung above the bed’s headboard contributed further character. One poster depicted a Heatran on a volcanic landscape, while the other had a full-length picture of a silver-haired woman in a ruffled red-and-white dress and matching bonnet, over which the words “My Sweet, Sweet Lady” were printed.

 

For the Prophet, this room had been her home for some time, and would continue to be for the foreseeable future. It didn’t bother her much; even in her peoples’ ruined holy land, the room was like a retreat from reality, one that she would withdraw to for long hours of reading when not leading the group or caring for her child.

 

Her child. His cries snapped the Prophet back into reality, after she had spent several minutes standing and reflecting on the comfort the room provided. She glanced over to the posters for a brief moment, then left and descended a short, narrow staircase.

 

The next chamber at the end of the stairs was a small prison with a single cell. Sylpha was sitting in front of the bars, while Looker and Jacob were jailed behind them. As soon as the Prophet entered the room, Looker jumped up.

 

“Please, be telling me why we are imprisoned like those who have committed…”

 

Looker was cut off when the Prophet’s son cried out once again. She glared at the detective from under her cloak, then started to approach Sylpha.

 

“Not too good with kids, eh, Detective?” Jacob quietly joked from the back of the cell.

 

“But, but, I…”

 

“Sylpha, there is something I need you to do,” said the Prophet. “I ask that you remain here with the others and watch these two along with my son. I know you would like to be out there on the front lines with the rest of us, but you’re only a child yourself. I can’t ask you to throw away your life like I can do myself.”

 

The younger Tenganist’s face sank slightly, but she still carefully took the Prophet’s son into her arms. She gently rocked the infant, soothing him. “I don’t understand, though,” she said to her leader. “What are you planning to do? What’s happening?”

 

“We are going to war with Polaris and Ghetsis,” the Prophet explained, her voice flat. “There aren’t any guarantees in war. Ideally I will return here having killed Ghetsis and put an end to his cause. If things go wrong, though… I can’t let kids like you get wrapped up in this. I want you to protect my son, because no matter where he came from, he’s still mine and I can’t deny my mother the right to see her grandson after all that’s happened.”

 

“Your mother?” Jacob piped up, sitting with his arms crossed.

 

“You know her, most likely. She’s far away from here battling in that big tournament all the Champions were invited to. I’d like to see her again, but… I don’t think she could forgive me for what I’ve become.” The Prophet stepped closer to the bars and grasped them before continuing. “And please, Looker, Jacob, I want you to forgive me for locking you up. I just can’t take any risks right now, so I need to wait and verify whose side you’re on. Please understand…”

 

“I am having a lot of questions for you someday,” Looker growled.

 

“I completely understand. One more thing, though… if the worst happens, if we all die and Polaris somehow finds this place, escape. Please, escape with Sylpha, the others and my son… flee to Emeraude Island. It’s where the last completely isolated community of Tenganists in the world is hidden away in the Sevii Islands. Keep the memory of our people alive.”

 

Leaving behind her awestruck prisoners and equally-stunned follower, the Prophet snapped her fingers. On cue, a gray, horned Pokémon materialized in the air next to her. Its body was doll-like, and golden rings were hung around its horns as well as around the bottom of its shape. It had huge, golden eyes and a mouth twisted into a sneaky grin.

 

“Hoopa, come,” the Prophet said to the Pokémon. “We must be leaving now.”

 

-:-

 

_“He wants me, but only part of the time, he wants me, if he can keep me in line…”_

 

The muffled sound of music accompanied by a vibration somewhere beneath her roused Nekou from sleep. She groggily glanced at the clock next to her bed, then groaned.

 

“fuck… I hate when people send me shit this early in the morning…”

 

Nekou fumbled around in the impossible tangle of sheets she was wrapped up in. Two beer cans fell out and crashed to the floor before she could finally locate her still-ringing phone. When she finally managed to rub the sleep from her eyes and take in what was on the screen, she blinked several times in confusion.

 

“This early in the morning, Maman? You know I like to sleep… this better be important.”

 

After pulling herself from the bed, Nekou collected her coat and quietly left the room.

 

-:-

 

The air in the room where Ghetsis had been holding his prisoners was as cold as it was outside of the temple. He hadn’t provided them with cushions, blankets or any other items for comfort, so they had all been shivering as they snatched what little sleep they could on the hard wooden floor. Elm had attempted to turn his coat into a makeshift pillow, but when he saw how cold Anthea and Concordia were, he gave it to them instead.

 

“It’s been quiet…” the professor said to his cellmates, though he couldn’t tell if they were listening. “Too quiet… neither Ghetsis nor those ninjas he’s with have been in here for a while.”

 

Elm waited for a response, but none came. He held back for as long as he could before speaking again, and when he did, it was a whisper through gritted teeth.

 

“We should try to escape.”

 

“Escape is impossible.” Anthea instantly, automatically responded, her voice cold and flat.

 

“Lord Ghetsis will find us no matter where we go…” Concordia added in a similar tone.

 

“You can’t talk like that!” Elm snapped. Realizing too late that his tone was far too harsh, he softened it as quickly as he could. “I’m sorry. What I mean is… Ghetsis has done so much to us all. We should fight back, no? He’s just one old man. How can he handle three people attacking him at once?”

 

“You underestimate him,” Concordia said, finally turning her dead eyes to Elm. “He possesses more strength than you would think. And he has only gotten more powerful as time goes by… I’ve known it ever since we fell back into his hands, he can…”

 

When Concordia trailed off and stopped speaking, Anthea immediately picked up the slack. “And even if we did overwhelm Lord Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad would kill all of us.”

 

“I refuse to believe that there’s no hope. There must be some way to…”

 

Elm was cut off by the sound of a door creaking open. He turned his head, and when he saw Ghetsis entering the room with the Shadow Triad behind him, stumbled backward several feet. His determination to escape had been immediately replaced by an overwhelming fear that Ghetsis had heard everything he’d said. Anthea and Concordia, for their part, barely reacted to Ghetsis’s appearance.

 

Ghetsis approached them with heavy, deliberate steps, slamming his cane against the floor to further intimidate his captives. When he stopped, he stood still and did not speak for several tense moments.

 

“It’s time for you three to do your jobs,” he finally said, glaring down on them.

 

Elm relaxed slightly, thinking that Ghetsis had not heard of his escape plan after all. That relief was short-lived, though. Ghetsis started walking toward the three prisoners again, and Elm’s fear returned.

 

“I don’t think I need to explain any further what will happen to you three if you don’t do as you’re told,” he continued. “You three have very specific roles to play in what is about to happen. Refuse them at your own risk.”

 

Elm felt words welling up in his throat, and before he could check himself, he blurted out, “And then you’ll let us out? Let me see my family again?”

 

Almost instantly, Ghetsis laughed. He continued to walk toward the three, and Anthea and Concordia slowly turned to stare at Elm as he began to fear what Ghetsis would do to him. When Ghetsis stopped right in front of him, the professor looked up at him with wide, trembling eyes.

 

Instead of flying into a rage as Elm feared he would, though, Ghetsis remained calm. Balancing carefully on his cane, he reached down and gripped the top of Elm’s head, eliciting a shocked yelp from the man.

 

Ghetsis lifted Elm until they were eye-level with each other, then said through a wide grin, “Be a good boy and I’ll think about it.” Looking back over his shoulder, Ghetsis then directed the Shadow Triad, “These other two… string them up.”

 

-:-

 

Some time later, Matt, Olivia and Bunny were searching the Pokémon Center’s lobby for Nekou. She had disappeared sometime before they had woken up, and with no immediate evidence of her whereabouts, they had no other choice but to look for her.

 

 _“At least there’s not too many people around…”_ Matt thought to himself, noting what was going right. That was only so much of a blessing, though, since Nekou was still nowhere to be found.

 

When Olivia saw the nurse returning to her desk, she immediately went over to it. “Excuse me?”

 

“Welcome to the Pokémon Center,” the nurse recited in a mechanical manner. “How can I help you?”

 

“I’m looking for my friend,” Olivia explained. “She has long black hair and wears a coat with silver buttons.”

 

“Is her name Nekou?”

 

“Yes!” Olivia exclaimed, her eyes brightening at the nurse saying Nekou’s name. “Do you know where she went?”

 

“She went out some time ago, but she left a message.” The nurse maintained a steady gaze into the eyes of the girl before her, nonchalantly flipping a pen around her fingers as she continued speaking in her flat voice. “I assume you’re Olivia?”

 

“That’s…” The robotic manner the nurse was carrying herself in made Olivia shift uncomfortably where she stood. “That’s me.”

 

“Your friend said that she had to go out for a while, and that she wants you to meet her at the Dance Hall.”

 

“Did you guys hear that?” Olivia called out over her shoulder.

 

“Yeah,” Matt answered. A slight sigh of relief filtered through his words; after their conversation the night before, he had found himself wanting to talk to Nekou more.

 

“I didn’t,” Bunny replied.

 

“Bunny, the nurse just told me that Nekou wants us to meet her at the Dance Hall.”

 

Once she had heard Olivia’s information, Bunny relaxed slightly. “Alright, that sounds good. Should we get going?”

 

A round of nods met Bunny’s suggestion, so the group started to walk for the exit doors. On their way, they passed a large television, around which a number of people had gathered.

 

 _“As you can see behind me,”_ the male reporter on the screen said, gesturing behind himself, _“quite a crowd is developing in Ecruteak City’s Central Square. They’re all here in anticipation of the speech to be given by Ghetsis, the spokesman of the Polaris organization. With the current level of discussion regarding social issues, there is quite an energy in the air here.”_

 

 _“How many people would you estimate are gathered in Central Square right now?”_ the voice of an unseen anchorman asked.

 

_“We don’t have a clear number yet, but estimates put it in the hundreds.”_

 

-:-

 

One individual within the crowd, if she heard the reporter’s estimate of there being hundreds assembled in the square, would have agreed in a heartbeat.

 

 _“It’s funny,”_ Rowena thought to herself, _“Usually when there’s so many people around you get warm just from how closely packed in you are. I don’t think I was in the mood to freeze and be crowded to death today.”_

 

Sighing, Rowena tightened the scarf around her head as much as she could while still leaving an opening for her headset camera to film.

 

-:-

 

With so many people gathered in the square, the rest of the streets were largely empty. Even if there had been a thousand people around her, though, Nekou never would have noticed them. She was standing rigidly still near the entrance of the Dance Hall, staring straight ahead into thin air and clutching a beer can so tightly she was nearly crushing it.

 

 _“How could you…”_ In her head, she was sobbing, even though she was mostly stoic on the outside. The only sign of the storm going on inside her mind were her glassy, watered-over eyes. _“No, not you! Me! How could I have failed you after all you’ve done for me? I know I could have saved you if…”_

 

_“Do you understand now just how powerless you are?”_

 

Even though the voice was hers, Nekou knew instinctively that the thoughts she heard weren’t her own. The sudden presence of the other entity inside her head brought on a wave of anger that caused her to fully crush the can in her hand.

 

“I’m not fucking dealing with you now,” Nekou said out loud. “fuck off.”

 

 _“But you know I’m right,”_ the voice cooed, carefully measuring its words. _“Did you really think you could cure her? Do what no real doctor could do?”_

 

“But I had Rosalie…”

 

 _“When it’s your time, it’s your time. You know that, I know that. We know that.”_ Nekou could feel the foreign presence invading herself, melting into every corner of her body like hot butter.   _“Look at yourself. Look at your… our hands. Look at them.”_

 

Before she even knew what she was doing, Nekou let go of the now-crushed can and raised her hands in front of her face. It was an instinctual motion, and when she realized what she was doing, she drew in a deep, distressed breath.

 

_“You know what you have to do with them. Take everything that’s yours or before you know it, it’ll be you in the ground.”_

 

“Nekou, there you are!”

 

Nekou had opened her mouth to say something back to her other self, but when she suddenly heard Olivia calling out to her, she snapped out of her daze. It was then that she finally noticed blood dripping from where the can had cut her hand, but as she turned to look toward where she heard Olivia’s voice, she saw the cuts healing right before her eyes. Her eyes widened at this, and she felt her body suddenly become weak.

 

“Nekou?”

 

When Nekou was finally aware of her surroundings again, she realized that Olivia, Matt and Bunny were standing right in front of her. Olivia was tilting her head, while her older companions stared at Nekou with worried looks on their faces.

 

“Did you take care of what you had to do?” Olivia asked.

 

Nekou didn’t answer. The words registered in her brain, but no response would come out, as if her throat was completely locked. She could only stare down at Olivia, and eventually, she managed to weakly nod her head.

 

Matt and Bunny looked from the corner of their eyes at each other. They didn’t say anything, but even without words, they knew what the other was thinking.

 

Perceiving that Bunny was hesitant to speak and wishing to interact with Nekou himself, Matt questioned, “Are you alright?”

 

The stare that met his question was one that Matt instantly knew he’d never forget. While he hadn’t known Nekou for that long, they had been around each other long enough that he had picked up some clues into her moods. What he saw in her glazed-over gaze was unlike anything he’d seen from her before.

 

“Let’s just go inside and get this shit done,” Nekou finally said. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she spoke far more quickly than she usually did.

 

Nekou suddenly pushed Matt and Bunny aside, storming past them and toward the entrance of the Dance Hall. They could only follow her with Olivia at their sides, dumbfounded by her erratic behavior.

 

By the time they caught up with her, they were already well into the hall’s bright interior. Bill, his two sisters and Nando were all already present.

 

“And so you have finally arrived, my friends,” Nando greeted them in his usual sing-song manner. “Just in time. I have been eager to get started.”

 

“He’s not kidding, you know,” Mako remarked, grinning. “He’s been telling us stories all morning to keep us up for this.”

 

“I can believe it,” Olivia said. “I can really believe it.”

 

While many of her older friends shared a laugh, Audrey got up from where she was sitting and approached Olivia. “Is your friend okay?” she asked, gesturing at Nekou with slight motions of her head.

 

“I think she’s just stressed out,” Olivia whispered in response while running her hand nervously through her hair. “It does seem weird though…”

 

Matt stepped forward and slightly raised his arm toward Bill, then said, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

“Well, our mother used to be a Kimono Girl years ago,” Bill explained, a proud glimmer in his eyes, “so this is our history too. What kind of a brother would I be if I didn’t try to teach my little sister about our past?”

 

“A bookworm like you would say that,” Mako remarked from behind Bill’s head.

 

Bill’s face flushed, and he started to turn around to express his frustration with Mako’s snark. Before he could speak, however, Kuni emerged from the back of the hall. Her sandals crashed loudly on the wooden stage with each step she took, and the sounds attracted the attention of her guests as she approached.

 

 _“Well, here goes nothing,”_ Bunny thought to herself. She didn’t realize it, but she was rocking slightly back and forth where she stood.

 

“We’ve been waiting,” the blue-clad Kimono Girl coldly addressed them, standing right on the edge of the stage. She extended her hand in their direction and said, “Come. Join me here.”

 

Bill and his sisters were the first to scale the stairs, followed by Nando, Bunny, Matt and Olivia. Nekou dragged herself behind the others, still barely alert of her surroundings.

 

While they came up onto the stage, the other Kimono Girls emerged from the wings. Two of them, dressed respectively in black and purple, were carrying several implements each that they began working with as soon as they sat down. The yellow and red Kimono Girls stepped past them and sat down on both sides of Kuni, then set out the large scroll they had held on the floor before her.

 

Seeing the wide, curious eyes most of her audience were regarding the scroll with, Kuni gestured for them to sit as well and explained, “We spent the previous day preparing it… it’s an illustration of the tale you came to hear. But first…” Kuni looked over her shoulder to her colleagues in black and purple, who were mixing herbs in a container filled with hot water. “Would any of you like some tea? It is one of our customs to offer it to guests.”

 

A smattering of  affirmations met Kuni’s question, prompting her to say to the two Kimono Girls behind her, “Naoko, Zuki, please distribute the tea as requested.” She then turned forward again and said, “Thank you, we always appreciate when guests partake in our customs.”

Naoko and Zuki nodded respectfully to Kuni, then carefully poured the tea out into smooth, cylindrical cups. Zuki, the Kimono Girl dressed in black, brought cups to Nando, Olivia, and Bunny, while the purple-clad Naoko distributed them to Matt, Bill and Audrey.

 

Even through his gloves, Matt could feel the heat from the tea radiating into his hands and up into his arms. Though it was far too hot to drink, he still enjoyed the feeling, especially with how chilly the air was that day. While he waited for it to cool slightly, he glanced over to the side and noticed that Nekou was not holding her own cup.

 

“That’s not like you to turn down tea,” he blurted out without thought.

 

“I don’t want any,” Nekou flatly replied, her eyes firmly planted on the ground just in front of her. “Just start the story…”

 

“Very well… Miki, Sayo, if you would.”

 

The Kimono Girls dressed in red and yellow nodded in silent agreement to Kuni’s request, then slowly opened the scroll and returned it to its place in front of her. The first portion of it depicted a tall man dressed in regal clothing, standing among a vast sea of flowers. All around him were strange, unfamiliar Pokémon, many of which held flowers somewhere on their bodies.

 

“This story begins three thousand years ago,” Kuni began explaining, to the rapt attention of most of her audience. “In those ancient times, there was an eighteenth type of Pokémon, one beyond the seventeen most know of today.”

 

“Is that not impossible?” Nando immediately questioned.

 

“He’s right,” Bunny said in agreement. “Where did they go?”

 

“That is what this story will tell you. These Pokémon… they were considered creatures of myth. Those of more contemporary generations know these creatures as fairies. The king of the Kalos region at that time, the man known as AZ, was regarded as the king of these Pokémon. He was most close to a particular flower Pokémon that was gifted to him by his mother.”

 

Kuni gestured to one of the Pokémon in the image; it had a tiny, white-and-blue body and clutched a flower with a black bulb on the end. None of the other Pokémon held flowers similar to it.

 

“AZ was seen as the king of the fairy Pokémon because of the large numbers of them that gathered in his palace’s garden. They were drawn there by the power of a great treasure AZ possessed. It was a Life Plate given to humanity by Arceus itself, one from which the power of the fairies flowed.”

 

“That makes sense,” Olivia said, “if they really were a type we’ve never heard about before.”

 

“Right,” Audrey added, scratching her chin with one finger. “One Life Plate for every type except Normal, there’d have to be one for this fairy type.”

 

“You catch on to this stuff quickly,” Mako gently joked to her sister, prompting Audrey to flush.

 

“With the power of the Life Plate and AZ’s care for them,” Kuni continued, “the fairy Pokémon lived in a paradise. However, that would not last. The king had a younger brother adopted from a tribe not of royal blood. This brother coveted what AZ had, and one day, he betrayed the family that took him in and returned to those whose blood flowed through his body.”

 

When Kuni nodded to them, Miki and Sayo worked the scroll to move it onto another image. This one depicted many humans and Pokémon locked in combat, with fires burning around them. Even Nando couldn’t stop his eyes from widening, albeit less than most of the other onlookers. Nekou was the only one who didn’t react, instead remaining rigidly fixed on staring at the scroll.

 

“The people who rebelled against the kingdom sought any advantage they could obtain to win the war they began. Recognizing that the fairy Pokémon represented a great asset to the king, they stole AZ’s great treasure.” Kuni brought her eyes up from the scroll, but her voice remained stoic. “When the rebelling army damaged the Life Plate, the powers of the fairy Pokémon disappeared. No longer could they use any of their special techniques, and their unique traits gave way to normal, nondescript attributes.”

 

Before continuing her story, Kuni paused for a sip of her own tea. Matt, Bunny and Bill all took the chance to take some of their own as well, though they continued looking at the scroll with rapt attention.

 

“The war was a horrific tragedy. Both sides fought viciously, with terrible losses for both. Eventually, AZ’s beloved flower Pokémon was forced to join his kingdom’s military. They were separated for several years, until one day…” Kuni closed her eyes and lowered her head, and Olivia thought she noticed a tear glinting in the corner of the Kimono Girl’s eye. “A small box was delivered to AZ. Inside was the body of his beloved Pokémon.”

 

“No…” Audrey gasped in dismay. Next to her, Mako looked away but remained silent.

 

At that point, Miki and Sayo brought the scroll to its next section. The tall man from the first image was in this one as well. His clothing and hair were far more unkempt than they had been before, and he was holding out an orb toward a giant, flower-like structure. The body of his deceased Pokémon was suspended over the opening at the structure’s top.

 

“What’s that?” Matt wondered.

 

“Overcome with grief, AZ built a machine to restore his Pokémon to life.” Kuni’s tone remained flat, even when most of her audience gasped in shock at her words. “Besides being the king, AZ mastered the sciences of the Tenganist people and was able to create a Jewel of Life from the Life Plates, something no man had been able to do before. With that Jewel of Life, he built a device to tap into the life energy of the planet and harness it, thus bringing his Pokémon back to life. Not only that, he succeeded.”

 

“Wait, this is the same story Jacob told us,” Matt realized. “But when he told us it, he said that AZ powered the device using the life energy of other Pokémon.”

 

“There is much contradictory information in records of these events,” Kuni clarified, “but our job is to preserve the truth. Now, I shall continue…”

 

Miki and Sayo rolled the scroll forward once more. Now even more ragged than ever, the tall man was standing on a cliff overlooking his flower-like device, tightly clutching the orb as his cape blew in the wind around him.

 

Matt shrank back slightly, working within his mind to reconcile the different versions of the story he’d heard. The idea that Jacob’s story might have been even a partial answer all along made his heart sink.

 

“AZ managed to restore his Pokémon to life, but the influence of the overwhelming energy caused his mind to deteriorate. Unable to cope with his overwhelming despair and anger, he decided to seek revenge on those who had taken his beloved Pokémon from him. AZ modified the device, powering it up further by allowing it to draw energy from Pokémon through special stones, thus transforming it into an ultimate weapon. With the weapon combining the powers of the Jewel of Life, the planet’s energy and the life energy of the Pokémon, AZ became a harbinger of destruction that wiped out both sides of the war in an instant. Both AZ and his Pokémon faded into history after these events. Modern works based on this tale gave them the names ‘Oberon’ and ‘Titania’ respectively, in an effort by the writers of later eras trying to create a clearer fictional narrative. They mean ‘king and queen of the fairies.’”

 

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Nekou grumbled toward the floor, barely loud enough for all the others to hear her. She was careful to measure how she spoke in order to avoid tipping them off that she knew more than she’d let on. “I thought Oberon was an object based on what I’d heard. But you’re telling me it’s definitely a person?”

 

“Wait, don’t get so far ahead of yourself,” Bunny quickly said. “I think I might have an idea of what’s going on here.” She put her hand on her chin, then continued, “The story said that AZ was given that name in reference to how he was the king of the fairies. But why was he the king of the fairy Pokémon? Well, they said that it was because of his bond with and influence over them. And what enabled him to have that power?”

 

Matt, Olivia and Nando, all realizing what Bunny was suggesting, slowly widened their eyes.

 

“It’s the Life Plate he had, wasn’t it?” she gave as an answer to her own question. “And the story also said that the Life Plate was damaged, not destroyed. In other words…”

 

“It still exists,” Bill said, finishing Bunny’s sentence for her. He turned to Kuni, who had been sitting quietly by, and asked, “Is that possible?”

 

“Certainly,” the Kimono Girl quietly replied. “The whereabouts of the king’s treasure are not clearly documented over time. It is very possible that it still exists in this day and age.”

 

Nekou stared down at the floor, considering what she had just heard. _“If it’s the missing Life Plate and Polaris has it, we’re fucked,”_ she thought, tightening her fists. _“And with Maman in the shape she’s in, how am I supposed to…”_

 

 _“He wants me, but only part of the time…”_ The sound of song lyrics rose from within Nekou’s coat, accompanied by the buzz of her phone vibrating. _“He wants me, if he can keep me in line…”_

 

While Nekou fumbled to get her phone out, Olivia asked her, “What is it?”

 

“Let me read it…” Nekou quickly scanned the message she’d been sent, then put the phone away and said to the others, “Ghetsis’s speech is going to start soon. I think we should be heading back to the Pokémon Center.”

 

“If that is what you are going to do,” Nando said, “I hope we will meet again soon. I shall be staying here a bit longer.”

 

Olivia couldn’t immediately manage any sort of response to her friend’s words. She was too disoriented by Nekou’s continuing strange behavior, and by the time she snapped out of her daze, all she could do was nod silently to him.

 

-:-

 

Jacob and Looker watched quietly from their cell as Sylpha gave attention to the Prophet’s son in his nearby cradle. He had started crying a few minutes earlier, so she went over to cradle him in his sky-blue blanket. That act of affection calmed him considerably.

 

Eventually, Sylpha carried him over to her chair outside the cell and sat down, still cradling him in his arms. Once he had completely relaxed, Looker decided to speak up.

 

“Good at that, you are,” the detective said, his face bearing a weary smile. “Surprising is it for one who is as young of age as you.”

 

“I think that’s why he likes me,” Sylpha responded, not lifting her eyes from the child in her arms.

 

“You shouldn’t even be mixed up in all of this,” Jacob grumbled while staring down at his crossed arms. “You’re still a child. People your age should still get to live your lives.”

 

“I wouldn’t have any life to live at all without her. Helping her in our cause, and in what life she has… it’s all I have left.”

 

“You shouldn’t talk like that. There has to be something else out there…”

 

As Jacob spoke, Sylpha hung her head. Once he had finished, she sadly said, “You don’t understand. I don’t have anything to go back to. It’s still fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday…” As memories flooded over her, Sylpha tilted her head back to face the ceiling and took a deep, tense breath. “I lived in a village in the borderlands between Sinnoh and Johto with my parents. It was a small place, very quiet… everything was peaceful until the day when Ghetsis and his three servants appeared.”

 

Looker and Jacob shared a dire glance between each other before Sylpha continued.

 

“In an instant my peaceful village turned into a hell on earth. Ghetsis and his men did not hesitate to use their Pokémon to tear everything apart. Buildings, people, Pokémon, it didn’t matter…” Sylpha felt her hands starting to tighten, and had to take another breath to ease them. “A Hydreigon, an Accelgor and two Liepard. As they laid waste to our town, I became separated from my parents. I searched through the chaos for them, but when I finally found them again… it…. it was too late.”

 

A tear rolled down Sylpha’s face, forcing her to stop talking briefly.

 

“I found them cornered by the Liepard, and before I could stop them… I watched them kill my parents without any mercy.”

 

“But clearly you managed to accomplish the feat of escape,” Looker said. A chill ran over his skin and he raised his eyebrows as far as they could go, but neither of these registered to him consciously. “I have failing in my understanding. How were you able to…?”

 

“When I saw those Pokémon kill my parents, I turned and ran. I knew they were chasing me…” As Sylpha spoke, each image she described played over in her head like a recording. “I ran as much as I could, but I knew the Liepard and their trainers were right behind me. I don’t know how long it was that I fled through the streets, but I was crying and tired. Before I even realized what was going on, a thick fog had rolled in. It was so thick that I quickly became lost. That was when she appeared from out of the fog, extending a hand to me even though we had just met… I didn’t know what to do, so I accepted it. The Prophet took me through the fog to a place far away from my village, and I’ve been with her ever since.”

 

Words failed both Looker and Jacob. They slowly brought themselves to gaze at each other, and Looker thought he saw tears welling up in Jacob’s eyes. That suspicion was confirmed when the old man fell forward off his seat, collapsing to his hands and knees as water rolled down his face from his eyes.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice breathy and shaking. “I’m so sorry… I could have done something… it’s my fault…”

 

“I don’t understand why you’re blaming yourself,” Sylpha said back, raising her eyebrow at his words.

 

“Your people could have hidden here in this land from Ghetsis, but since it no longer has any life, the time you can spend here is finite. This place just cannot provide for survival forever anymore.”

 

Sylpha brought her finger up to her mouth and bit down on the nail, then asked, “How is that your fault?”

 

“You… you might be too young to really know about this.” Jacob was struggling to speak without choking on the overwhelming emotions that were now flowing freely from deep within his heart. “What do you know about Saeko Oryo?”

 

Sylpha’s mouth slowly fell open as her body became rigid. “We aren’t supposed to talk about her…”

 

“If Saeko Oryo didn’t swallow that Jewel of Life and cause this land to lose all of its life energy,” Jacob continued to explain, seemingly unaware of Sylpha’s reaction, “your people could hide here from Ghetsis forever, sustaining yourselves with ease. But… but you can’t, not anymore. And I could have stopped it. I knew what Sutter was doing with her, I could have stopped it… but I was too blinded by the excitement of our discovery, and he was too blinded by his passion for it... “

 

While remaining silent, Sylpha pushed her hands into her forehead. Jacob was a trembling mess on the floor in front of her, and she was just as profoundly disturbed by that as much as she was by his actual claims. She had picked up on the wording of what he told her, but even if what she thought he meant was actually true, she struggled to believe that it was the whole story.

 

_“When she comes back here… I’m going to have to find out the truth.”_

 

-:-

 

The stage prepared for Ghetsis’s speech separated where he was standing with his followers from the crowd that had assembled to hear him speak. They could not directly see the crowd, and likewise could not be seen.

 

“You hear them out there?” Ghetsis said out loud. Zinzolin and the Shadow Triad all knew that despite him acting like he was asking a question he was actually being purely rhetorical to stroke his own ego, and accordingly, they did not answer. “I haven’t even said a word to them yet and they’re wrapped around my little finger.”

 

“Yes, of course, Lord Ghetsis,” Zinzolin promptly said back, his words accompanied by a slight bow. “Everything’s just as you expected it would be.”

 

“As if there was any doubt.” Raising his head so he could look down his nose upon Zinzolin, Ghetsis ordered, “Go to Bellchime Trail and meet up with Archer so you two can prepare for my arrival. And Zinzolin? Don’t lay a finger on him until my plan has reached its final phase. I’m not taking any risks.”

 

“As you wish.”

 

Zinzolin straightened up, forcing a slight cracking sound from his back. He cringed, but quickly suppressed his discomfort and flashed a pained smile at Ghetsis, hoping it would fool his leader, before walking off to the northeast.

 

“Now, as for you three…” Ghetsis said, turning his attention to the Shadow Triad. “You will remain back here and wait for my signal to do what we planned.”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three members of the Shadow Triad instantly responded.

 

“Very good. Now…” A wry smile worked its way onto Ghetsis’s gnarled visage. “I have a date with my adoring public.”

 

Ghetsis’s cape billowed around him when he pivoted on his cane and started walking. He stopped briefly at the stairs to take in the crowd’s noise again, then slowly began to ascend them. As soon as he came into the crowd’s range of sight, they broke into a roaring cheer. He closed his eyes and grinned broadly beneath the high collar of his cape. This was his moment, the time when all his years of work would finally pay off.

 

When he reached the center of the stage, Ghetsis slammed his cane decisively into the floor and glared eagerly over the crowd, his fiery passion burning in his eyes. He allowed the crowd a moment more to cheer, then gestured for quiet.

 

“You all warm my heart, you really do.” Ghetsis had to actively push down his more self-aggrandizing urges to continue portraying himself as supportive of the people spread before him. Just for a little longer, he thought. “If you don’t let me talk, though, I can never get to what I’ve come here to discuss with you today.”

 

Ghetsis took several steps to the right before continuing. “As you know, my name is Ghetsis Harmonia, and I’ve come to speak to you on behalf of the Polaris organization.” Just saying the name ‘Polaris’ instead of his own name or that of Team Plasma caused acid to rise in Ghetsis’s throat. “If you’ve heard any of my speeches on television, or if you listened to my assistant when he spoke in Goldenrod City, you have some idea of what I’ve come before you to talk about.” Ghetsis started shaking his fist to accentuate his words. “You’ve come today because deep down in your hearts, you know the corruption of the Pokémon League. You know the corruption that keeps you under the thumb of the rich and the privileged!”

 

The crowd erupted in response to Ghetsis’s words once more. From within the mass of people, Rowena cringed from the ear-splitting noise she was surrounded by, but something else was bothering her. She felt as if Ghetsis was inside her head, somehow speaking directly into her mind instead of her hearing him through her ears.

 

“Cinccino?” she whispered, prompting her Pokémon to pop up next to her head. “Scratch my neck, would you?”

 

“Cin,” Cinccino said in agreement, before gently running her claws over the back of her trainer’s neck as requested. The sensation helped Rowena clear her head so she could focus on continuing to film Ghetsis.

 

“Now let us begin with a quick overview of the beginnings of the Pokémon League, so that we may identify the roots of the evil gripping this world.” Ghetsis was wearing the same holographic prompter Zinzolin had used earlier, and reached to his cape’s collar to activate it. “The origins of the Pokémon League can be traced back thousands of years to the ancient Kalos region. In those times, warriors would ally themselves with wild Pokémon and compete in vicious matches at places such as the Battle Chateau. This system, originated by the Tenganists of the era, evolved over time. The number of facilities at which battles could be fought expanded, and they came to be in every town and city throughout the Tenganists’ lands. Eventually, as the years passed, Pokémon battling went from being a blood sport fought by hardened warriors to something the public became encouraged to take part in, as you know it today. One thing that has always remained consistent is that these battles are fought for the entertainment of the rich and powerful.”

 

Ghetsis paused his speech momentarily, allowing a murmur of intrigue to pass through the crowd. He could tell, not only from just the sounds but from their enthusiastic expressions, that they were already in the palm of his hand. He clenched his fist as if to tighten his grip on them and smiled, then continued speaking.

 

“Maybe some of you are wondering just how these things could be true. After all, does society not provide health care through the Pokémon Centers? What about supplies via Poké Marts? Food? Housing? The middle-class son of public workers, the daughter whose family lives paycheck to paycheck, the wealthy siblings who have never wanted for a thing in their lives… as those pulling the levers of society would tell you, all of them would have the same opportunity to indulge in the dream of Pokémon training, a dream glorified and given the image of national heroism by those very same people who tout its supposed equality. When you consider how your own lives have gone, ask yourselves, have you gotten a piece of that pie? Have you?”

 

Some of the audience members began turning to each other, talking quietly to themselves about Ghetsis’s question. The vast majority, however, responded with forceful affirmations that their answer was no.

 

“As I thought, as I thought!” Ghetsis beamed, rocking against his cane to keep his enthusiasm in check. “Now, we have a brave volunteer who has come forward to share her story with you. Welcome her to your stage!”

 

-:-

 

As the figure stepped onto the stage and approached Ghetsis, Rosalie found her mouth reflexively tightening around her pipe. She was watching the speech on her wheelchair computer’s holographic screen, and she recognized the young woman entering the scene. Ghetsis’s ‘guest’ was wrapped in a plain, heavy green coat, her shoulder-length brown hair peeking out from under her hood.

 

“Looks like our theories were right,” Rosalie said into her communicator, addressing the other members of Team Rocket who were assembled elsewhere. “There’s that Lucky girl, right on schedule.”

 

-:-

 

As Lucky came up next to him, Ghetsis gestured off to the side of the stage, prompting Darkness to briefly appear and hand him a microphone.

 

“State your name and hometown for the crowd, please.”

 

Ghetsis lowered the microphone toward Lucky’s face, and she responded, “My name is Mimi, and I’m from Goldenrod City.”

 

“I must tell you, Mimi, you’re very courageous to come and stand before the public and tell us your story.” Ghetsis looked down on her and grinned slightly, so subtly that nobody but her could even see it. “Would you be so kind as to tell us the story from the beginning?”

 

Lucky hesitated. She fidgeted in place and glanced out nervously toward the crowd, prompting Ghetsis to set a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

 

“I understand that this is difficult for you,” he said, moving the microphone in front of her face once more. “We’re not here to judge you. This is a place where we want to hear what you’ve been through.”

 

“Okay…” After taking a deep breath, Lucky began her story. “I was the oldest of three children. Our parents found work where they could, but it was a struggle to get by. My father was an electrician who worked maintenance on the Radio Tower, and my mother worked as a janitor at Goldenrod Department Store. We didn’t see them together very often, so I was usually the one taking care of my siblings.”

 

“That’s very noble of you,” Ghetsis praised her, firmly maintaining his modest yet warm smile. “Am I correct in assuming you would have done anything to help them?”

 

Before speaking, Lucky briefly shot a glance over to the crowd, seeing that they were almost universally listening intently to her words. “One day… one day, our father fell off a platform while working and was badly injured. Since he couldn’t work anymore, our mother had to get a second job, and we saw even less of her. I couldn’t let my siblings keep living like that.”

 

“So what did you do?” As he asked this question, Ghetsis’s face gradually turned more serious.

 

“One thing we always shared, the three of us… we’d always watch Pokémon battles on the tiny old television our parents owned. I realized that was the way. I had to become a trainer myself and create the opportunity we never had before.”

 

“She had to become a trainer to try and support her family in a time of desperation,” Ghetsis boomed, pivoting on his cane to address the crowd. “Tell me, how many of you have a story like that? Entering the world of the Pokémon trainer to improve your lot in life?”

 

A healthy amount of agreement emerged from the crowd in response. Ghetsis nodded, then turned back to Lucky.

 

“You’re among friends here, as you can see. Tell us about the next part of your story, Mimi.”

 

Once again, Lucky hesitated. This time, before she could speak, she tightened her hands into fists and gritted her teeth.

 

“I took what savings I could muster and applied to receive a starter Pokémon from Professor Elm.” A murmur from the audience briefly interrupted her, the voices of people who had been in the same situation. “It took what felt like forever, but I eventually found out that I would be accepted.”

 

“And what happened?”

 

“I couldn’t make it all the way to New Bark Town right away. I didn’t have the money. In order to raise it, I got a job myself, working the food court at the Department Store. It took several months but I finally managed to pay for my trip.”

 

Ghetsis couldn’t help but smile again, knowing what was surely coming next. “So you made it to New Bark Town and met Professor Elm. What happened next?”

 

“I got to Professor Elm’s lab and I found out… I… it was all in vain.”

 

“It was all in vain, you say.” If one wasn’t paying complete attention, they could have easily mistaken Ghetsis repeating Lucky’s words for a question. It wasn’t, though. In reality, he was amplifying what she said and directing it toward the crowd, who responded exactly as he hoped - with shouts of dismay and anger. “What happened to cause that?”

 

“I took so long to get the money for my trip that those… those people who could afford to travel there right away slipped ahead of me in the line. By the time I finally managed to make it, there were no starters left for me.”

 

“Did you hear that, ladies and gentlemen?” Ghetsis said to the crowd. “Because of Mimi’s need to live like one of you, her need to work for the funds necessary for what she wished to do, her opportunity was denied! Denied by the rich who could go anywhere at any time they wished!”

 

The anger from the crowd escalated rapidly, turning into rage. It got so loud that Ghetsis actually had to gesture for calm, though he allowed himself the indulgence of listening to it for a minute first.

 

“I can hear your raw emotion, and I can more than understand it. You all now realize that for the first time, someone is here listening to you, the ordinary public who are always ignored. Mimi is you! She represents all the dashed hopes and dreams this system called the Pokémon League has cruelly denied you! I believe you now understand the true meaning of this day. This is your day, the day that all the debts you are owed finally come due!”

 

A roar of joy met Ghetsis’s words, one so intense that Lucky actually cringed slightly on the stage. Ghetsis, on the other hand, drank it in. He lived for moments like this, and when he thought of what he was about to do next, he finally found himself unable to fight back a wide, satisfied grin.

 

“Mimi,” Ghetsis said, returning his attention to her once more, “you’ve been a very courageous young woman today. You’re not the only person I wish to bring before the public today, however. I have secured the presence of someone not only you but everyone here on this day will want to see. Ladies and gentlemen, our mystery guest!”

 

Darkness and Pestilence were several steps up the stage’s stairs before the crowd could see the limp man they were dragging. As soon as they did, a blast of anger so intense it could be heard throughout most of the city shattered the air.

 

-:-

 

Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Olivia were in the Pokémon Center’s lobby, watching the speech on television like several others around them were. Their mouths all fell open when they saw the man being forced into view by the two members of the Shadow Triad.

 

“No way…” Matt gasped.

 

“So that’s where he was all this time…” Olivia said in kind.

 

Nekou’s thoughts, on the other hand, were much more blunt. _“Shit.”_

 

-:-

 

“Identify yourself to the world,” Ghetsis demanded, pushing the man’s chin up with his cane before bringing the microphone to his lips.

 

“P-Professor… Jason Elm…” Elm wheezed and fell onto his hands and knees, looking up at his captor with fear in his eyes. His face was bruised from the beatings he’d taken during his time in Ghetsis’s clutches.

 

“Hear the voices of the public, of the people you’ve worked to harm!” roared Polaris’s spokesman, guiding all the fury of the audience onto Elm’s head. He then took a step back and gestured toward Lucky, who was fighting to restrain her own anger. “Look into the eyes of the ones you’ve betrayed!”

 

“It’s all your fault…” Lucky fumed. “It’s all your fault what happened to me! You sold what was rightfully mine!”

 

“I don’t even know you!” Elm countered.

 

Refusing to allow Elm even a small chance to redirect the narrative, Ghetsis intervened, saying, “And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! He thinks so little of people like you that he can’t even remember you!” Immediately gesturing for quiet again, Ghetsis said, “Mimi, please continue your story. What happened after this cold, heartless professor denied you the tools you needed to bring yourself out of poverty?”

 

“I had been planning to take the Pokémon from Professor Elm and go out into Route 29,” Lucky explained, her voice becoming raspy from emotion. “My goal was to win as many battles as I could on my way back home in order to win money I could use to help my family. When Professor Elm denied me the starter Pokémon that should have been mine, I had to spend what little I had left to buy Poké Balls and catch my own Pokémon. With what I had I managed to capture a Pidgey, but I struggled just to make it even as far as Violet City. Those routes around there… there are so many people like me trying to get started from nothing in those areas. Not only did we try to fight each other, those privileged, spoiled people who took what we deserved… they came through and destroyed all of us! We never had a chance!”

“And as you know,” Ghetsis said, raising his voice above the continuing noise of the crowd so they could hear him, “the losing trainer in a battle must pay an amount of prize money to the winner! To the victor goes the spoils, but what goes to the loser? Mimi, why don’t you tell them?”

 

The shouts of the crowd were steadily growing in volume again, and as a result, Lucky cringed. She didn’t speak until Ghetsis gestured for quiet once more.

 

“My money ran low very quickly.” Lucky’s arms shook as she spoke. “Before I knew it, I was in even worse ways than I was at home. Pidgey and I had to live on what we could salvage, if we were lucky it was berries, but sometimes… sometimes…”

 

At that point, Lucky could take no more. She broke down and began crying, trying in vain to block her tears by pushing her hands into her face. In an attempt to comfort her, Ghetsis again set his hand on her shoulder.

 

“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to,” he gently informed her.

 

“Sometimes we had to eat like starving wild Pokémon, pulling scraps out of the trash…” she sobbed. “My life only got worse as a result of leaving home.”

 

“That’s enough, Mimi. You’ve been very brave today.” Ghetsis turned fully to face the crowd, punctuating his movement with a single jab of his cane into the floor. “Now you know. Every one of you who have gathered here today, you came because you wanted your suffering to be validated. You wanted to know that you weren’t alone. Now thanks to this young woman’s courageous confession, you have gotten exactly that. Never again will you all be suffering alone! We of Polaris will stand alongside you in your fight for justice!”

 

The response from the crowd rose to a whole new level, their noise filling the cold air in the square with electricity. Ghetsis couldn’t stop himself from smiling broadly and tossing his cape open with his right arm.

 

“And now there is only one thing left! In order to fight for justice, we must identify who the enemy is. This wicked man…” Ghetsis gave a stiff kick to Elm’s leg, then continued, “He is only one part of a much larger whole. At every level, this bloated, diseased system is riddled with corruption that oppresses you while allowing those who already have wealth and power to ride on your shoulders from birth until death! Many nations of this world, including Kanto and Johto, are ruled by governments in which the Gym Leaders participate, even while they still sit in the ivory towers of their Gyms and suppress those trying to give themselves a leg up in life! These individuals collaborate with willing members of the public to create the societal mechanics keeping you, the masses, down! Just look at how this very city is divided. One half overcrowded and struggling to get by day by day, one half populated comfortably by people who have little need to worry about their future. Or perhaps we could look at Mimi’s hometown of Goldenrod City, which is a booming futuristic metropolis ringed by slums. It’s an apt metaphor for how this world has become, a small number of wealthy people living luxuriously on the backs of the majority. Will you just stand by and accept this any longer?”

 

The crowd responded with another forceful rejection of what Ghetsis had asked of them, filling the air with deafening noise. Their feedback filled his ragged body with life, a kind of rush he hadn’t felt in years. His goal was close, and he knew it.

 

Reaching into his cape, Ghetsis produced a Poké Ball and held it out before the crowd.

 

“You all know this shape. This Poké Ball, held up to society as the symbol of the Pokémon League itself. It’s the tool that makes the bonding of human and Pokémon happen, and without that, none of what we’ve discussed today would be possible. The Pokémon League as we know it would not be able to function! Imagine a world where Pokémon could not be sealed in these spheres… I would dare to say that the bureaucrats running the Pokémon League would fear such a world! If joining the ability of a person to that of Pokémon didn’t require commercial products, the ability of the trainer to truly befriend their Pokémon and become allies would be all that matters, not who can afford the most expensive and effective Poké Balls along with basic services! If this system was entirely abolished, speaking not only of Poké Balls but the entire thing including Pokémon Centers and Poké Marts and everything in between… if all economic barriers were removed, anyone would be able to rise up and accomplish the dream that is held up to the public as what all should aim for! If  that was how society operated, someone from modest means like our brave guest Mimi would have the same opportunity as a spoiled brat raised in luxury. And once anyone from any background can wield the same power, the ability of the people to control their government will grow! No more will you, the majority of the public, be fed unrealistic dreams by an establishment that profits on your struggle to reach that sunlight!”

 

A great roar, the loudest one yet, greeted Ghetsis’s latest declaration. After returning the Poké Ball to the inside of his cape, he raised his fist into the air, inciting them further. Deep within the crowd, Rowena found herself being jabbed and shoved from all sides by the increasingly raucous people around her. Despite this, however, she kept her camera focused on Ghetsis with a dogged sense of determination.

 

“Of course, there are others that play parts in this corrupt, bloated society. The Silph Company, for one. The Pokémon League government long ago granted them a contract to produce the consumer products that I described previously - Poké Balls, medicines, exploring equipment, the list goes on. The industrial efforts necessary to create these goods were a source of employment for many who could not make their way as trainers. But then in an effort to cut costs, production in Kanto and Johto was decreased, with much of it being sent overseas to facilities such as the Poké Ball Factory in Kalos. Hundreds if not thousands of jobs here were lost. For the factories that remained, many ordinary workers - such as those you all know in your day to day lives - depended on the Magnet Train to commute between homes in Johto and the industrial facilities in Kanto. Or should I say, those workers used to depend on the Magnet Train. That vital transit service now lies in ruin, the victim of a half-baked terrorist plot that has severed convenient access between Johto and Kanto.”

 

As he continued to speak, Ghetsis turned slightly and began to slowly walk forward, though he kept his eyes locked on the crowd.

 

“And what of the Frontier Society? It may not be the oldest thing around in this country, but it’s tied to the same people responsible for everything else. When the Pokémon League came together with those who devised the plans for the Frontier Society, they hatched a scheme that would irreversibly change this country. Look around you. Look at the state of this city! Look at the state of cities all across this nation! Johto, Kanto… they were already spiraling uncontrollably toward the sterile, soulless urban sprawls you see today, but did the Frontier Society’s construction help? Of course not! For such an ambitious project to be built as fast as it was, many, many workers had to be brought in. These new jobs were quite precious to those who held them, yes… but what do you think happened when the time came to move on? Those jobs moved on too, and the result…” Gesturing toward the urban half of Ecruteak, Ghetsis thundered on, “Countless individuals, good people who worked on the construction of the Frontier Society facilities to earn money for their families, crushed into the same space with those already left destitute by the corruption of the Pokémon League! And those facilities claim to be for everyone, but once again, if you actually want to be able to compete at the level they offer, you have to be able to fund your preparations, just like the Pokémon League tournaments. The picture I am painting for you is quite clear, when everything is added up. No matter where you look, every aspect of this society is built on the same corruption, the same lies, that oppress you. From top to bottom, this society is built to suppress and silence the lower class that the wealthy and powerful have grown comfortable on the backs of, all while throwing periodic bones to those same lower classes in the form of the false dream called ‘Pokémon Master!’”

 

Once again, the crowd began to roar in response to Ghetsis’s words, but he promptly cut them off by slamming his cane against the stage and raising his arm into the air.

 

“Let me finish, I urge you!” Once the noise subsided a few moments later, he continued, his voice starting to quiver. “The one question that still remains is, who do we blame for all these problems? We can and should turn our eyes to the Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, the professors, everyone else involved in the administration of this system. They should and will all be held responsible! But if these issues are truly to be resolved, simply eliminating those in the middle will not be enough. In order to truly dispose of these injustices once and for all, the root of this evil must be destroyed! And where, pray tell, does that blame fall? Think back to my words earlier - the ancient Tenganists of the Kalos region first initiated what can be recognized as the earliest form of competitive Pokémon battling. What I didn’t mention before is that they’ve also been involved since then in shaping their creation into the boot that you are all ground under. Over the centuries, Pokémon battling took a slow course of evolution. That all changed after the failed Firestorm Rebellion of 1850. This continent, from Olivine City to Lavender Town, was consumed with unrest after that attempt to overthrow Caitlin the First, the Tenganist ruler of this land. In order to soothe the people and thus protect her own rule, she created a new institution. Each city in her kingdom was assigned a knight trained in her court to serve in it, and decreed that anyone who could best eight of those knights in battle would be rewarded with a fortune great enough to last a lifetime. Now does that sound familiar to you at all?”

 

Some in the crowd shouted their agreement, but Ghetsis continued on.

 

“Of course it does. Now let’s fast forward around a hundred years, to Kalos in the early 1960s. The Tenganist rulers of that region had long since turned their eyes to Caitlin’s empire and realized the effectiveness of her methods in managing it, so they had imitated what she did. By that time, though, those fools were wise enough to know that things needed a little refreshing, as they weren’t working as well at pacifying the populace anymore. A revamp of the system was initiated. The government-trained warriors who once filled the positions of authority in each city were replaced with civilians who passed certain standards, and facilities for both medical and supply needs were constructed, all with the stated goal of bringing greater accessibility to the masses. Of course, you all know that that wasn’t really the case at all! When Kalos introduced the very first modern Pokémon League, the world was sent on a collision course with the destiny we now face today! And who was it at the controls when that destiny was set in motion? The same people who were there three thousand years ago, and who were there a century and a half ago, the Tenganists! Even today, as we speak, they are everywhere, pulling the puppet strings on this corrupt, diseased society! And like all who grow too decadent in their positions of power, they fear the change that Polaris is bringing. That is why…”

 

Before continuing, Ghetsis clenched his teeth. A spasm went through his arm down to his hand, causing his grip on his cane to tighten until he began shaking.

 

“Because they fear our goals,” Ghetsis snarled, “a terrorist organization calling itself the Tenganist Liberation Front has formed. They were the ones who bombed the Magnet Train’s line, in an attempt to kill several high-ranking Polaris members… their attempt on our organization’s members’ lives failed, but they still destroyed that vital economic link between regions! Now that they see that their grip on control over you is slipping, they have resorted to terrible acts of violence to keep exerting dominance! Well, let me tell you, that will not happen! I am here to exact justice upon the Tenganists, beginning right now with our next special guests!”

 

-:-

 

In the forest off to the north of Ecruteak City, Ada, Trevor, Proton, Petrel and Ariana were waiting with Rosalie for their part of the operation to begin. Ariana, her face flushed and dripping with sweat, was leaning against one of the trees while Petrel and Trevor tended to her and Ada and Proton stood awkwardly nearby. All of them turned their heads, however, when they heard Rosalie slam her fist down on the arm of her wheelchair.

 

“It’s a damn good thing Pierce is with the boss,” the scientist said out loud. “If he was here we wouldn’t be able to keep him from going crazy…”

 

-:-

 

The reasons why Rosalie worried were the two women Ghetsis had brought up onto the stage with him. Anthea and Concordia, both tied up by their wrists to crosses in the same shape as the helm of Ghetsis’s cane, were being pushed forward by Darkness and Pestilence to a deafening chorus of jeers from the onlookers. Some members of the crowd even threw pieces of trash at them, but no life returned to their dead eyes as they walked. It was as if they didn’t even notice the trash at all.

 

“Allow these two Tenganist traitors to hear the rage in your voices as emblems of their order!” Ghetsis thundered, stoking his audience’s anger. “That’s what they are, emblems! Their people have worked to oppress the masses for far too long, but that ends today! Today, I will take these two witches and go there!”

 

Turning his back on the crowd, Ghetsis pointed into the distance, up toward what could be seen of Bell Tower over the rest of the city. It glistened in his uncovered eye, which he widened with eager anticipation.

 

“I will go to the top of Bell Tower with these two, and once we’ve arrived, I will use them to unseal the power that they have kept hidden from you there. And once that power is in my hands, I will bring about true justice and free you all!” The audience began cheering again, but Ghetsis turned back around and once more gestured for quiet. “That is the role I will play. As for you, I call on you all to take this cause into your own hands!”

 

-:-

 

Up in the sky over Ecruteak City, Colress’s airship descended until it was within sight of those in the square. Seated at the control keyboard, the scientist had been watching Ghetsis’s speech with a smug sense of amusement, waiting for his turn to play a role in the event to begin. When he saw Ghetsis raise an arm into the air on his screen, he knew that his time had finally come.

 

“That was just the opening act,” Colress said out loud, grinning widely as he typed rapidly on the keyboard. “Now get ready for the headliner!”

 

-:-

 

From her vantage point within the horde, Rowena had seen Colress’s airship descend into view and immediately trained her lens on it. The zoom function her camera had allowed her a better view of the ship than the people around her. She could see an iron hatch slowly open up on the bottom of the ship, and once it was open, dozens of spherical drones flew out one after the other. These drones followed each other in a neat, arcing line which ultimately closed in on itself and took up a formation encircling the edges of the city. They then shot brief flashes of bright red light both upward and downward.

 

Seeing that his audience was looking at the sky, Ghetsis regained their attention by announcing, “This city is now sealed off from the outside world! Our barrier will prevent anyone from leaving… and anyone from entering! Now…” After slamming his cane against the stage, Ghetsis lowered his head slightly, allowing shadows to spread over his gleeful, grinning face. “As of this moment I proclaim the liberation of Ecruteak City from the control of the Pokémon League and its return to the hands of its rightful owners, the people! Now, I call on all of you to stand alongside me in starting the fire that will burn the rest of this society to the ground! While I exact justice at Bell Tower, I urge you all to take your anger to the streets. Nobody will interrupt your taking back of what is rightfully yours! The one thing I ask is that you get started with the Pokémon League’s main representative in this city. March to Ecruteak Gym and tell the traitor Morty that he serves you, not the corrupt, bloated bureaucracy that pulls his strings! Today is your day, your date with destiny! Take back the control that is rightfully yours! Tell the world that you will never again labor under the boot of oppression! Show them all what is coming for them!”

 

The most mighty cheer of the day erupted from the crowd, one so loud that even the outskirts of Ecruteak City could hear it. Rowena cringed and raised her arm to shield herself from the people around her. She tried to hold her camera on Ghetsis for as long as possible; before she was pushed away by the crowds moving toward the Gym, she managed to record him standing with his fist up in victory for a moment before turning and starting to leave the stage.

 

There was one thing she recorded that made her wonder about what she was seeing - for a brief time, Ghetsis stopped and pulled Elm to his feet, then said something quietly to the ragged, beaten professor.

 

Within minutes, the square had largely cleared. Much of the assembled audience for the speech had followed Ghetsis’s instructions to go to Ecruteak Gym, while Ghetsis himself disappeared behind the stage with Anthea, Concordia and the Shadow Triad. Only two people remained.

 

“Your performance this time was pretty impressive,” Dino said, leaning against the side of the stage with his arms crossed. Lucky turned to face him as he continued, “Eating out of garbage cans? That one was a nice touch. Did you or Ghetsis come up with that?”

 

“Leave me alone,” Lucky coldly replied, “you know I don’t like you or any of your friends over in Athleta’s section. But since you asked, Ghetsis did.”

 

-:-

 

_“If you’re just joining us now, let’s recap the events we’ve just seen unfold. Following a speech by Ghetsis, the spokesman for the Polaris organization, a crowd estimated to be in the hundreds is on the move, apparently heading southwest toward Ecruteak Gym. Stay with us as we continue to cover this breaking news…”_

 

The air in the Pokémon Center’s lobby was deadly silent. All the people in the room, Matt’s group included, could do nothing but stare at the available televisions, trying to grasp what they had just seen.

 

“Was… was what he said really true?” Olivia quietly stuttered, clenching her fists and staring into her own lap. “I’ve got things so easy compared to the people he was talking about, and the Frontier Society… is my mom really a part of this?”

 

Matt found his words caught in his throat. He had to mentally shake his head at himself when he realized how he’d lied to Olivia all the times in the past, yet could not even force out a half-truth to comfort her this time.

 

“Olivia, you know your mother better than any of us. Do you really think she’d do those things, let alone deliberately?”

 

“Yeah, listen to Ne…” Matt suddenly caught himself and froze. Because of how used he was to Nekou soothing Olivia’s nerves, he immediately thought that she was the one speaking this time, when in reality it was Bunny. “Bunny, I mean. Sorry…”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Bunny said, casting a brief glance toward Matt before returning to Olivia. She felt her heart sink when she saw that her words were not getting through to the girl, whose mood remained dour. Though she wished to do something to try and lift Olivia out of her spiraling depression, though, Bunny could not think of anything suitable to say.

 

Bunny bit her lip and drew a slow, deep breath. She recalled the events in and immediately before Violet City, and how she had been unable to gain Olivia’s trust. Back then, Nekou was the only one Olivia responded positively to, but with the sort of mood Nekou was presently in, Bunny knew that she would not be able to help console Olivia at the moment either.

 

“Olivia? Matt? There you are!”

 

Monroe’s voice was a welcome interruption for everyone at the table, thanks to its piercing the uncomfortable mood hanging over them. He approached the table with Avril following closely but remaining quiet.

 

“You’re unusually loud today,” Olivia mumbled at him.

 

“It’s…” Monroe flushed, having returned to his usual state of self-consciousness thanks to Olivia’s words. “Well, uh… I’m kind of scared. You saw that speech, I’m sure…”

 

“He wants to join back up with you guys. You know, strength in numbers and all.” Though she seemed to be joking at first, Avril’s face quickly turned rigid. “In all honesty, I think that’s a good idea. I’m not so proud I don’t know when to get help.”

 

“So what do we do now…?” Olivia wondered, still not lifting her stare from the table.

 

“I’d say that we have to do the smart thing,” Bunny said. “This city isn’t safe. We have to get out of here as soon as possible.”

 

“Didn’t you listen to what Ghetsis said?” Matt pointed out, his breathing becoming quicker each time he drew in air. “Those drones are keeping us in. Nobody enters, nobody leaves.”

 

Bunny lashed her head around to face Matt, fire burning in her eyes. “You seriously believe him? It’s a bluff! It’s got to be!”

 

“No, he’s telling the truth.” Nekou bitterly muttered. Her shoulders and arms hung loosely as she sat slouched in place, barely gripping the coffee in her hand. “Those machines… I’ve seen them before.”

 

While she took a brief break from talking to sip her coffee, Nekou did not meet the questioning gazes of her companions. She knew they were looking at her, though, and she knew what they were wondering.

 

“I know because this isn’t the first time I’ve seen them,” she coldly explained. “Several years ago, in a forest in northeastern Unova, that Pokémon called Mewtwo was seen.” Just like she had correctly guessed what the others were thinking moments earlier, Nekou was well aware that the mere dropping of Mewtwo’s name made their eyes go wide - especially Matt and Bunny due to their encounter with Yung and his Mirage Mewtwo. “It had been captured by Polaris and experimented on even further than ever, but it escaped from them like it escaped from Team Rocket. They weren’t going to give up, though, and hired a Pokémon hunter to recapture it. He tracked it to that forest and used those very same drones to pin down and attack it, but he was stopped by a combination of Mewtwo itself and the efforts of a Pokémon rescue team.” Finally turning her eyes to her audience, she finished, “That’s how I know there’s no way out of this city.”

 

“How do you know all of that so specifically?” Matt immediately questioned.

 

“Now isn’t the time for that!” Olivia interrupted. “Nekou, please, what can we do? What do we do if we can’t escape?”

 

“We should go hide somewhere safe, then…” came Matt’s quiet suggestion.

 

“No!” Nekou accentuated her proclamation by slamming her hands down on the table, making Matt and Bunny jump in their seats. She scoffed, then rose to her feet and walked to the head of the table, facing all of the others including Monroe and Avril. “We have to do something.”

 

“W-What do you mean, N-Nekou?” Monroe stuttered, biting his lip as soon as he finished speaking.

 

“If all we’re going to do is stand by and let Polaris do whatever they want, what’s the point of even living…” Nekou’s voice was low, a near whisper, but her despair was evident between how she spoke and her staring downward. “You listen to me, I’ll tell you what life is. We’re born, we eat, we sleep, we fuck and we die. And after we die we go in the ground and rot into fucking bones. There’s nothing more after that, no great beyond, no paradise, no fucking garden of Eden! Nothing! All that matters is what you do with that brief moment you’re breathing, otherwise, your life is meaningless.” Stopping to take a breath, Nekou raised her dark, dull eyes to her dumbfounded friends. “If we stand here today and allow Ghetsis to burn this city to the ground, what does that say about our lives? We have a chance to do some fucking good for once. This is bigger than us. There’s no higher power that will judge us for what we do, but we will be judged by the people standing on this planet right here and now.”

 

A collection of open mouths and wide eyes greeted Nekou’s vicious outburst. Several tense moments passed with the air around them dead silent, disturbingly so. She kept staring in the direction of the others with the same dark, sunken look she had from the start.

 

“And what makes you think this is even really about some misguided sense of social justice or whatever the fuck he says it is?” she continued. “It’s never been about that. Ghetsis doesn’t give a shit about any of the people he claims he does. This is all a distraction, and we’re fucking stupid if we fall for it.”

 

Finally, Matt decided to speak, slowly raising his trembling right arm as he did so. “I’m… I’m not sure what… What are you talking about? Are you even okay? I’m not sure that was going to help righ…”

 

“No, she’s right,” Olivia cut in once more. “If we run and hide but leave everyone else behind, that only proves that Ghetsis was right about us… and me.”

 

“Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Monroe questioned.

 

“Probably,” she replied, tapping her heel against the floor. “Ghetsis sent his fans to the Gym for now, but who says they won’t come here next? This city has the Battle Hall, which is practically a fortress. We should have everyone in this Pokémon Center hide there until this is over.”

 

Having been listening silently to the others for some time, Bunny glanced over to Matt. When she realized that he had nothing to say, she sighed irritably and rubbed her forehead with her fingers. “Fine, I’ll say it. That’s not a bad idea, but we have to think of ourselves too.”

 

“Right,” Olivia said with a quick nod. “I’ll go talk to the nurse right…”

 

“Wait, there’s something else.”

 

 _“Now you decide to talk…”_ Bunny thought following Matt’s interruption. “What is it?”

 

“Think about it…” He slowly turned in Bunny’s direction, but stopped halfway and simply stared off into space, his exposed eye hazy and unfocused. Also, his voice was quiet and hollow. “Ghetsis’s speech… remember that he blamed the Tenganists for everything. And if you’re right about this whole stunt being a distraction for something else, wouldn’t the logical conclusion be that his real target is…”

 

“...the Tenganist locations here!” Bunny exclaimed, pounding her right fist into the palm of her left hand. “He’s already going for the Bell Tower right now, but the next place he’ll probably go is the Dance Hall!”

 

“We have to get the Kimono Girls and everyone else out of that building before Ghetsis can get to them,” Matt continued. “We owe them that much.”

 

“Then have the evacuation here started while we go get them,” Nekou quietly added.

 

With the group in agreement, Olivia began heading for the Pokémon Center’s front desk. Before she could get far, though, Avril blocked her way. The two looked into each other’s eyes, seemingly angrily, until Avril suddenly smiled and put her hand on Olivia’s head.

 

“I was wrong about you, kid. You’re tougher than I thought.”

 

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a blessing or a curse,” Olivia responded. She pulled Avril’s hand off of her head, but then smiled slightly herself.

 

“Hey, Monroe,” Bunny said as she watched Olivia walk off with Avril. “What’s with her?”

 

“S-she’s just kind of… insecure. F-feels like she has to… c-compete to stand out, you know?”

 

“I sure do,” Matt answered, his mouth curling slightly downward. “We better get ready to go so we can get started as soon as they get back.”

 

“Wait!”

 

For the second time, the conversation was disrupted by the sudden arrival of a familiar face. The new presence was easily identified, as his half-black, half-white checkered coat and long green hair stood out.

 

“I want you to take me with you,” Nikolai demanded, again fiddling with the empty air in front of himself much as he had when the group first met him.

 

“Why should we trust you?” Nekou growled at him.

 

“I do not understand why you wouldn’t. I have nothing to hide… simply, I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen, in the deepest parts of my heart. I don’t even understand why I can feel it, I just know…”

 

Matt looked over his shoulder at Nekou, who was still looking as miserable as ever. “We need all the help we can get.”

 

Nekou didn’t reply in any fashion.

 

-:-

 

For some time, Rowena found herself following the crowd in order to avoid being trampled, but she finally managed to break away and began sprinting back to the Pokémon Center as fast as she could.

 

“This… what we’ve got is electrifying!” she gasped to Cinccino, who was still sitting on her shoulder. “We’ll put them right in the middle of the biggest media event in years!”

 

Cinccino cheerfully voiced her agreement, but she quickly noticed something nearby and tapped Rowena on the shoulder to alert her trainer to it.

 

“Cinci?”

 

“What’s that, Cinccino?”

 

“Cino, cino.”

 

Following her Pokémon’s gestures, Rowena spotted Matt’s group, as well as Monroe, Avril and Nikolai, running north from the direction of the Pokémon Center. Seeing this prompted her to quickly blink several times.

 

“Now where are you off to in such a hurry?” she said out loud. “Looks like I just found the next trail to follow…”

 

Rowena adjusted her scarf, then began following after Matt’s group toward the Dance Hall. She didn’t notice that she was herself being followed.

 

“Reep…” the wild Mareep growled to herself before continuing her pursuit.

 

-:-

 

A cold wind blew through the rust-colored trees sprawled north of Ecruteak City, not far from Bell Tower. The Prophet pulled her coat tightly around herself to shield her body from the chill. Several of her followers, two of them women locked in prayer for their own Transcendence powers, were nearby.

 

“Alesia,” the Prophet said, beckoning the brown-haired young woman to her side. “We’re going to get started very soon, so please be ready to heal anyone who needs it.”

 

“I’m prepared.” Alesia replied, giving a short nod. At that point another breeze flowed through the forest, making her shiver.

 

“I don’t like that wind.” The Prophet moved her eyes away from Alesia as she spoke, soon settling for staring downward at the dirt. “I have a bad feeling about-”

 

“Leader, someone’s passing the bridge!” one of the meditating women, whose green hair was tied into a long ponytail, suddenly exclaimed. “I think there are… eleven individuals.”

 

“Looks like your radar Transcendence was as useful as I hoped, well done.” Looking over her shoulder to the rail-thin, bald man standing behind her, the Prophet stiffly ordered, “It’s time. Set it off.”

 

“Yes!” came the man’s sharp reply. He set the suitcase he was holding on the ground, then kneeled and opened it, revealing  a laptop within. After scratching at his shoulder - a useless gesture due to the stitched-together, heavy material of his clothing - he began typing in a string of characters into a terminal prompt.

 

Meanwhile, the Prophet clenched her own hands together in prayer. “Please forgive them for their actions,” she whispered. “What they do is not their fault. Place all their sins onto my shoulders, I made them do all of this…”

 

-:-

 

Beneath the bridge connecting Bellchime Trail to the city proper, the Tenganist Liberation Front’s bomb emitted a steady beeping sound. Moments later it detonated, the explosion violently throwing the stones that once made up the bridge in all directions.

 

High above the blast site, Ghetsis smiled as he looked down at the aftermath. The three-headed, blue-and-black dragon he rode on slowed to allow him a better view of the flames and smoke on the ground, which had consumed the man he’d been watching cross the bridge.

 

“They fell right into my trap…” he gloated to himself.

 

Behind Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad along with Anthea and Concordia were following using Pokémon to fly as well. Pestilence was holding onto a pair of Honedge-like swords that normally dwelled in the gray coat of arms mounted to his back. The others were all accompanied by some of Ghetsis’s other Pokémon; Darkness and Chaos were being carried by their leader’s Cofagrigus while his Metagross carried the crosses Anthea and Concordia were strung up on.

 

Satisfied with the progress of his plan, Ghetsis smirked and pressed a button on the top of his cane. Almost instantly after he did this, the sound of a second explosion rang through the air.

 

-:-

 

“There was a second detonation,” the thin, bald man informed the Prophet. His breathing increased in speed as he rubbed his hand over his head. “There were two detonations. Why were there two detonations…”

 

“Ghetsis…” she mumbled, turning her icy eyes toward Bell Tower. “He got one step ahead of us again…”

 

“Uh, we have a problem,” the green-haired woman said, her breaths quickly becoming short. “A big one…”

 

-:-

 

The Team Rocket members in the woods were also aware of the second explosion, thanks to the readings on Rosalie’s computer screens. All of the others were clustered around her wheelchair, staring at the projections with her.

 

“What’s going on here?” she said, her lips closed around her pipe. She took a long drag from it, then exhaled and continued, “Two explosions… do you think the Tenganists went out of line on us? And why put it there of all places?”

 

“Now we could have used Pierce being around with us,” Trevor replied. “Since he’s the middle man for us and the Tenganists and all.”

 

“Look on the bright side, at least we…” The small smile that Proton had been wearing faded when something on one of Rosalie’s screens caught his eye. He leaned in close to it and said, “Wait, something isn’t right.”

 

“Yes, I’d say you’re quite surprised right now, aren’t you?”

 

The Team Rocket members were already caught well off guard by the sudden interruption of an unexpected voice, but the fact that it was one they recognized only made them turn to it even faster. Petrel had to support Ariana, while Rosalie spun her wheelchair around so fast that she nearly ran over Ada’s feet.

 

Though they all knew the voice, they still were horrified to see Archer emerging from the deeper part of the forest with Zinzolin alongside him.

 

“What did you do…” Ariana growled.

 

“Not sounding so good, are we, Ariana?” Archer taunted her, spreading his arms out wide. “I take it your time is running out after all these years. You’re the lucky one.”

 

“You watch your mouth, you rotten bastard!” Trevor snapped back. “To think you betrayed us and went over to Ghetsis’s side…”

 

“You sad little fool,” the traitorous former Executive replied, tilting his head back slightly so he could look down his nose at his former teammates. “You thought I was one of you, but in reality, I was _always_ loyal to Polaris’s cause. It’s just too bad we had to meet here like this today… had everything gone as planned at the Radio Tower, your pain would have ended.”

 

“W-What do you mean?” Ada stuttered.

 

Archer closed his eyes and grinned while holding his chin with his right hand. “I guess I’ll make it simple. The Radio Tower was rigged to blow, so all I had to wait for was Giovanni answering our call. At that point, I pull the trigger and the entire Team Rocket leadership blasts off for good. While I’m making my escape in a chopper I prepared, obviously.”

 

When Archer opened his eyes, he could see those he had betrayed glaring back at him; Rosalie had her hands over her mouth in shock, while Trevor, Ada and Proton all were staring him down with fire in their eyes.

 

“Of course,” he smugly continued, turning his body slightly as he spoke, “that doesn’t matter now. We’re finishing up what we started. It began at a tower and today it’s going to end at a tower.”

 

“And what do you mean by that?” Proton snapped.

 

“You mean you haven’t figured out why you detected eleven marks crossing the bridge but ten still remain after the bomb?” Zinzolin scornfully said. “What fools. Haven’t you realized that we knew every step of your little plan?”

 

Ariana coughed, then demanded with as much strength as she could muster, “How would you know?”

 

“The insight given to us by our shepherd guides everything,” Archer replied, raising a single finger next to his grinning face. “How could we be lost when we have that?”

 

“And in this case,” Zinzolin continued for Archer, “it means that Lord Ghetsis didn’t cross the bridge, they all flew over it on their Pokémon. Are you wondering exactly who that eleventh person was? The one who did get killed?”

 

Zinzolin stopped speaking for a moment, offering the members of Team Rocket the chance to guess the answer to his question. When none did, he picked up again.

 

“Why, you and your Tenganist friends just blew away dear old Professor Elm. Ghetsis told him he could go be with his family again if he walked over that bridge, and I guess he wasn’t lying…”

 

“You lot involved innocent women and children in this?” Trevor growled, clenching his fists. His look of anger matched those worn by his teammates. “Is there any level you won’t…”

 

All of a sudden, Proton interrupted Trevor by throwing a Poké Ball and calling out, “Pangoro, go now!”

 

As the hulking panda bear Pokémon took shape from the insides of Proton’s Poké Ball, Ada nervously turned her eyes to him.

 

“What… are you…?”

 

“Think about what he said!” Proton roared, looking back over his shoulder at Ada. “If Ghetsis and the rest of his team flew over the bridge, that means they’re heading for Bell Tower themselves!”

 

“That’s right,” Archer taunted them. “I told you, we know everything. We knew Giovanni would be going off himself to intercept anyone who split off from Ghetsis, but you never thought he’d be seeing Ghetsis face to face!”

 

“We don’t have time to waste here,” Petrel declared, “we have to save the boss!”

 

“You might have to…” Archer said, crossing his hands behind his back, “...but you won’t.”

 

Before the Rockets could do anything to stop him, Zinzolin tossed four of his Poké Balls into the air, releasing his Cryogonal, Jynx, Glalie and Vanilluxe. They were then joined by a Sudowoodo that emerged from a Poké Ball Archer opened himself.

 

“Our well-equipped forces versus what remains of your ragtag band of misfits,” he continued, bringing his right hand to his chin and grinning deviously. “I know who my money is on.”

 

-:-

 

As soon as Matt and the others arrived at the Dance Hall, they began trying to convince the people there of the danger they were in.  It wasn’t just the Kimono Girls that were present; Nando was there as well, observing a battle between Audrey and the Flareon-using Kimono Girl in red, Miki. Bill and Mako were watching the battle with him, too.

 

Matt had spent several minutes explaining what was going on to Nando and Mako, while Monroe and Avril did the same with Audrey and Olivia. As Bunny spoke to the Kimono Girls themselves, Nekou and Nikolai simply stood away from the others and remained in an awkward silence.

 

Their respective conversations came to a violent, abrupt end when the entire building was rocked by a nearby explosion.

 

“That was a bomb,” Matt said to Nando, Bill and Mako as he struggled to regain composure after the blast, his voice carrying a hint of breathy hysteria. “That was a fucking bomb! I just know it…”

 

“And it was close…” Mako listlessly added.

 

“What do we do now? What do we do now?” Bill continued repeating his question out loud, anxiously looking around as he paced back and forth with his hands shoved firmly in his pockets.

 

“In light of what has just happened, I think we should listen to Matt. ” Nando tightened his grip on his harp and continued in a voice that was now tense and breathless, “Going to the Battle Hall will give us better shelter than we would have here.”

 

“Then  let’s get moving!” When Olivia and Bunny approached him, Matt turned to them and asked, “Well? Are they coming or not? We don’t have time to wait any longer!”

 

“They’re on board, all of them,” Bunny confirmed. “We  should start moving out now while we can.”

 

“Good, I don’t want to spend any more time here than I have to.” By the time Matt moved his attention to Monroe and Avril, they had come to him with Audrey alongside them. “ I see you’re ready too. Let’s just get out of here before things get any worse…”

 

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Olivia said.

 

Matt sharply pivoted around and began leading his increasingly large group toward the exit, but just as he put his hand on the door, it flew open and crashed into his face. He reeled back, just barely managing to remain on his feet.

 

“Oh no, Matt!” the woman who had entered the hall exclaimed, raising her hand to her mouth. “Are you alright?”

 

“Rowena…?” As he recovered, Matt pinched his nose and shook his head slightly. Once he fully regained his composure, he took full notice of the raven-haired journalist standing before him. “What is…”

 

“Do you know about what just happened in the square?” Rowena asked, anticipating his question. “A bomb just…”

 

As soon as she heard where the explosion was, Nekou suddenly started talking again. “The fuck? There was a bomb in the square? As in, where Ghetsis’s speech was?”

 

“I’d have to be blind to have not seen it. Nekou, you seem like you…”

 

“Fuck what I seem like!” Overwhelmed with frustration, Nekou swung her fist toward the wall, cracking the wood upon impact. Her hand remained almost entirely uninjured, aside from a few small cuts. “If we don’t get out of here right now, we’re fucked!”

 

Between the sweat running down Olivia’s forehead, Matt opening and closing his hands as his fingers trembled, and Bunny simply staring and breathing heavily, fear was overcoming the group. Nekou’s behavior wasn’t helping with what they already felt.

 

-:-

 

The Pokémon Center was rapidly emptying out as the nurse filtered through its guests. There was one man, however, who was completely unaware of what was going on.

 

Dante’s room was filled with the music of an old record he had playing. The phonograph piping the music through his quarters was meticulously well kept, its golden horn glittering in the light despite its age of at least half a century.  It sat atop one of the many crates in the room next to a large bag, the containers all filled with the same type of lab equipment spread out on the table before their owner.

 

“Ah, this never gets old,” Dante wistfully said out loud to himself, adjusting the magnifier on the microscope he was using. He glanced over to the photograph next to him on the table, the same one of himself with his family that Matt and the others had seen before. “Do you remember, Amina? This is what we always listened to together. It was your favorite…”

 

Dante returned to inspecting the slide he had on his microscope. While working, he suddenly let out a wheezing cough. Once it subdued, he once again looked at the picture.

 

“Don’t worry, my love, you won’t be alone for much longer.”

 

-:-

 

The audience of Ghetsis’s speech had largely made their way to Ecruteak Gym, just as he had instructed. Their cacophony of angry chanting accompanied by the occasional tossed rock or piece of trash went on for some time, but it came to an abrupt end when the sound of the bomb going off reached them. A nervous murmur quickly arose among the crowd.

 

Watching this from a nearby alley, Dino placed his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Looks like it’s time to move forward.”

 

“Back off,” Lucky sullenly said, lurking in the shadows a few feet away from her fellow Polaris member. “This is Ghetsis’s work, meaning it’s my work.”

 

“Of course, of course,” Dino dismissively replied, waving his left hand at her and grinning. “I won’t rob you of your glory. You better get into character, though.”

 

Lucky took a deep breath, intending to act on her annoyance over Dino’s patronizing tone. She thought better of it, though, and instead used the breath to focus her mind. For several long moments, Dino watched as she stood in silence.

 

Abruptly, Lucky snapped her eyes open, almost as if she had entered a trance, and started running toward the crowd. Dino just looked on, continuing to smile in amusement at how deeply Lucky got into her persona.

 

“They just set off a bomb in the square!” she screamed to the mass of people before her. “There was a huge explosion!”

 

The most immediate reaction to this news was a collective gasp from the members of the crowd closest to Lucky. Those further away questioned what was going on, and word about the bombing quickly circulated through the horde. Within minutes the message had mutated as it passed from one person to the next, and the deafening volume of the protest returned with a vengeance.

 

By that time, though, the somewhat restrained chaos of the earlier protest turned into madness. Where the shouts had been mainly insults directed at Morty and the Pokémon League as a whole, they were now cries of unrestrained rage. They cast blame upon all the parties named in Ghetsis’s speech - Gym Leaders, the administration of the Pokémon League, the Tenganists and so on - and as the crowd slipped further into complete turmoil, the idea rapidly emerged that the bombing was a failed attempt at killing Ghetsis and, more importantly, his audience themselves.

 

Looking on, Lucky contorted her face into a wide, wicked grin. _“There you go. Now isn’t that exactly what you want to feel?”_

 

-:-

 

When Ghetsis’s feet touched down on the balcony of Bell Tower’s top floor, the wooden floor creaked ominously. He slammed his cane down to balance himself, then turned around to see the Shadow Triad arriving as well, followed by his Metagross dropping Anthea and Concordia onto the balcony.

 

“Keep your Doublade at the ready,” Ghetsis said to Pestilence while recalling Metagross along with Cofagrigus and Hydreigon. He then removed a new Poké Ball from within his cape and opened it, releasing a golden, single-eyed sword that hid her body and blue-and-black arms behind a golden shield. “Aegislash will assist you. Now come.”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three of the Shadow Triad answered in unison.

 

The Shadow Triad faithfully followed Ghetsis into the building, bringing Anthea and Concordia along with them.

 

Inside was a spacious, dark chamber given only a modest amount of light by the lanterns scattered around its edges. It was empty aside from the lanterns and a single pedestal right at its center. Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad walked several feet into the chamber before stopping.

 

“Give me the Clear Bell,” Ghetsis ordered, gesturing with his hand toward his servants. Darkness quickly complied, handing over the small, glassy item. “And now the fun truly begins.”

 

While the Shadow Triad waited with Anthea and Concordia, Ghetsis approached the altar. He took the Clear Bell and attached it to the hook on the pedestal, then took several steps back.

 

“And now, hear my voice, Bell Tower!” he thundered, swinging his cane upward. “Open and reveal your secrets to me!”

 

In response to Ghetsis’s chant, light began shining from within the Clear Bell and it started to ring on its own. The entire tower shook, forcing Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad to brace themselves. With a great, deafening creaking sound, the tower’s pyramid-shaped roof started to open up like a four-petaled flower. Ghetsis looked up at the increasingly unobstructed sky, his body filled with an electric excitement and his eyes filled with glee he was barely able to contain.

 

“It’s finally come, the time I’ve been waiting so long for…”

 

Once the roof fully unfolded, the Clear Bell released one more bright flash, triggering a circle of light in the same shape as Ghetsis’s cane to draw itself on the floor of the now-open tower.

 

Ghetsis pivoted around on his cane and commanded the Shadow Triad, “Put them where the lines meet.” He indicated with his hand the places he meant and added, “There and there.”

 

Pestilence stayed back to continue following his earlier direction to stand guard with his Doublade, leaving Darkness and Chaos to collect Anthea and Concordia. They forced the restrained women forward into the glowing array, positioning each of them on one of the intersections between the straight crossing lines and bottom half of the circle.

 

“Now onto the next…”

 

All of a sudden, something from the air caught Pestilence’s eye. He interrupted Ghetsis, crying out, “Lord Ghetsis, watch out!”

 

“So they came after all,” Ghetsis calmly said, not even bothering to turn around. “Finansielle was right. Aegislash, use King’s Shield.”

 

Ghetsis’s Aegislash moved to block her master, then held up her shield. A blue light emerged from it and took on the shape of dozens of interlocked hexagons. The object Pestilence saw careened into the barrier and bounced harmlessly off. It could briefly be seen to be a bone before it disappeared.

 

“You finally showed yourself, Giovanni?”

 

Up above the tower, Giovanni hovered on a flying scooter. The Marowak that had thrown the bone was at his feet, the bone back in the Ground-type’s hand. Pierce was alongside him, using a glider with Team Rocket’s logo branded onto it.

 

“Go forth, Marowak,” Giovanni directed, ignoring Ghetsis’s taunt. “Use Bonemerang again!”

 

“Doublade, Sacred Sword!”

 

Pestilence’s Doublade intervened by using his swords to knock away the bone after Marowak threw it again. Darkness then took a Poké Ball of his own off his belt and dropped it, causing a Greninja to appear in a burst of shining light. Unlike the Greninja Matt had fought at the Battle Factory, this one was colored mainly black instead of blue.

 

“Greninja, take down the one on the glider!” he ordered.

 

Greninja immediately complied, lashing his long tongue out. Pierce saw it coming his way and activated a small rocket launcher attached to his craft, but before it could fire, Greninja wrapped his tongue around the glider and yanked it toward the tower.

 

When it crashed into the tower, Pierce’s feet separated from it. He rolled across the floor while the glider fell aside. Before he even recovered enough to bring himself to his feet, Darkness and Chaos grabbed him, restraining his movements.

 

“Unhand me!” he fumed, even though he knew quite well that his demand would be ignored.

 

“Giovanni!” Ghetsis called out, pointing his cane upward at his team’s enemy. “Come down here and we will settle this like men! You and me!”

 

“And why would I trust you?” Giovanni countered. “I’m quite happy right here where I am.”

 

“Sure, you could stay up there. Wouldn’t that be a comfortable seat to watch Doublade _pierce_ your friend’s throat?”

 

Giovanni clenched his teeth, but he kept his lips shut in order to hide it. Though he still didn’t believe Ghetsis’s words, he was unwilling to sacrifice a useful agent like Pierce, so he landed his scooter on the tower and stepped off.

 

“I see you haven’t lost that sense of humor of yours,” he said to Ghetsis, crossing his hands behind his back.

 

“And your wit is as dry as ever,” Ghetsis replied. “It’s just like old times, isn’t it?”

 

“Don’t lose yourself in nostalgia. Getting driven too hard by your emotions… that was always your problem. Marowak, Bonemerang!”

 

“Greninja, Mat Block!”

 

Marowak threw his bone at Aegislash again, but Darkness’s Greninja jumped in the way and pressed his hand against the floor, creating an orange rectangle of energy that solidified into a mat shield. The white spots on Greninja’s legs turned a shade of brown accordingly. Just like what had happened with King’s Shield, the bone bounced off the mat and vanished before reappearing in Marowak’s hand.

 

“And you’re just as much of a liar as you always were,” Giovanni snarled. His eyes widened, though, when he saw what Ghetsis did next.

 

Gesturing dismissively toward Greninja, Ghetsis said, “Darkness, you stay out of this. I said this fight would be just me and him.”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” Darkness faithfully answered. He tightened his grasp on Pierce, while Greninja lept back out of the battle.

 

Giovanni raised an eyebrow at this, but he didn’t think about it for long. “Marowak, use Bonemerang once more!”

 

“Be patient, Aegislash…”

 

With no hesitation, Marowak sharply threw the bone at Aegislash yet again. This time, Aegislash made no effort to put up any sort of defense, instead opting to allow Marowak’s weapon to strike her shield once, loop back around and hit her again before returning to him.

 

“Now, strike when you have the chance!” Ghetsis shouted, slamming his cane against the floor. “Shadow Claw!”

 

Aegislash pulled her body out from behind the shield, which she then took up in her left hand. Dark energy then formed the shape of sharp claws around her right hand, and she used them to rake across Marowak’s body with vicious force. Four parallel wounds were cut into his body, and he was thrown back near Giovanni.

 

“Don’t lose your composure!” Giovanni ordered as Marowak got back onto his feet. He thrust his hand forward and said, “Bonemerang again!”

 

“You know what to do, Aegislash,” Ghetsis said through a wry grin. “King’s Shield!”

 

In a flash, Aegislash got her body back behind the shield and generated another barrier of light. Marowak had jumped forward while throwing in order to put some more force into his attack, but the King’s Shield rendered it useless once more.

 

Giovanni growled and attempted to focus his mind, but before he could do anything, a voice from behind him disrupted his thoughts.

 

“Greninja, Water Shuriken!”

 

Darkness’s Greninja suddenly jumped back into the battle, clutching several throwing stars made of water in his hands. Giovanni could only gasp and stare wide-eyed as Greninja assaulted Marowak with them, Greninja’s leg spots changing to a blue color as he attacked. By the time all five of the stars had hit him, Marowak collapsed.

 

“Just me and you, eh?” Giovanni quietly fumed. He lowered his head slightly, causing his hate-filled eyes to become partially obscured by the brim of his hat, then recalled Marowak. “I should have known better.”

 

“You’re right,” Ghetsis taunted him. “You should have.”

 

Before Giovanni even knew what was happening, Aegislash loomed right in front of him. She had shifted back into her offensive form and had a Shadow Claw at the ready, but this time, her target wasn’t a Pokémon.

 

“Boss!” Pierce cried out. He tried to fight against Darkness and Chaos’s restraint, but their combined strength was too great for him.

 

For both Giovanni and Pierce, time seemed to slow to a halt as Aegislash brought her Shadow Claw towards Team Rocket’s leader. He took a single, stunned step back, but he didn’t have the reaction time needed to think of an actual escape route. He felt a sharp, searing pain tear across his head and his vision ran red. It didn’t take long for him to realize as he felt warm fluid coming down his face that it was blood that was distorting his vision - specifically, his blood pouring out of a gash Aegislash sliced across his face.

 

All of the sudden, his body felt extremely weak, and Giovanni fell backward. The last thing he could think before he blacked out was curse after increasingly incoherent curse upon Ghetsis for his actions.

 

“Boss, no…” Pierce whispered, his voice shaking. He had watched the entire thing through wide, horrified eyes. He abruptly stopped breathing, however, when he felt the cold steel of one of Doublade’s swords against his neck.

 

“No!” Ghetsis called out, stopping Chaos from cutting Pierce’s throat. “That one, I want him alive. He has to watch this.”

 

Chaos sheathed Doublade and backed away from Pierce, while Ghetsis took several steps forward before turning back around and putting his finger to his ear.

 

“Colress, I’ve got something I want you to take away. A trophy.”

 

Pierce shot a panicked glance toward Colress’s airship, which had been holding in the air within eyeshot of Bell Tower after releasing the drones. He spied a pair of green blobs float out of the hatch that the machines emerged from earlier; when they got closer, he realized they were two Reuniclus.

 

The Reuniclus floated over to where Giovanni was lying and positioned themselves alongside his body. They stretched out their arms and hummed as they activated their psychic powers, using their minds to lift Giovanni’s still form up into the air. They then flew off with Giovanni in their grasp, back toward the airship.

 

“What are you… doing with him?” Pierce shouted at Ghetsis, his panic leaving him barely able to breathe.

 

“To the victor goes the spoils, ever heard that saying?” Ghetsis turned his head up slightly so he could look down on Pierce. “Of course you have, you Tenganists know plenty about war. Now it’s time for you to find out how it feels to be on the losing side. Pestilence, the book.”

 

Pestilence immediately approached Ghetsis and produced the book of mythology that Anthea and Concordia had been studying. Once he had taken it from his minion, Ghetsis shot a brief glare at Pierce before moving to a point directly between Anthea and Concordia.

 

“You two, do exactly what I ordered you to. Sing that song and unseal the true power of this place!”

 

Unable to take any more, Pierce forced himself against Darkness and Chaos’s restraint. What he saw playing out in front of his eyes horrified him, and being so close to it yet unable to stop it felt his body feeling completely broken to hopelessness. He screamed out, “Stop it! Please, Mother, don’t give him what he wants!”

 

Hearing Pierce calling out to her caused a brief flicker of life to return to Anthea’s eyes. “P...Pierce…”

 

“Ah yes, this is quite the family reunion, isn’t it?” Ghetsis grandly said to all those around him. “It’s been decades since you were all together, hasn’t it?”

 

“You’re the one who took Mother from us in the first place!” Pierce could feel his entire body burning from the overwhelming emotion flowing through him. He strained his neck to push his head toward Ghetsis. “After everything we’ve been through…”

 

“Always so hung up in the past… it’s sad. Shouldn’t you be thanking me for bringing you back together with your dear, sweet mother? I’ll lay this out for you. If she and her friend here sing the song I want them to, they get to live. They disobey, well, you felt what that Doublade is like.”

 

“That’s the exact same lie you just told Giovanni!” Pierce countered. “You’ll just kill all of us like you did to him!”

 

For a moment, Ghetsis did not answer. When he did, though, he just grinned and said, “You’re right. Not like it makes any difference for you right now.” Turning away from Pierce and back to the Clear Bell altar, Ghetsis opened the book and demanded, “Sing the song right now!”

 

After only a brief hesitation, Anthea and Concordia complied with Ghetsis’s orders. They both started to sing a haunting song, their despair evident in their sad, hollow voices. Ghetsis broke into a wide, toothy grin, and the circular array under their feet started to glow brighter.

 

“Wait…” A realization had come over Pierce, and he trembled in the grasp of the Shadow Triad members. “That song… I know it…”

 

“That’s right,” Darkness confirmed. “It was thanks to what you Team Rocket people did back in Unova that made this possible. If you hadn’t uncovered Meloetta’s song and what effect it had on the Reveal Glass, we of Team Plasma would never have found its connection to this place. You and your beloved boss gave us exactly what we needed to pull this off.”

 

“No, it can’t…” Pierce stared wide-eyed up at the sky, where rings of rainbow colors were beginning to form over the tower. The Shadow Triad did the same, but their looks were ones of excitement.

 

As the array got brighter, the rainbow rings spread out further from their epicenter above the tower. Colress’s two Reuniclus returned, accompanied by ten more that also emerged from the hatch in the bottom of his ship. They surrounded the tower in a circle and then joined hands, forming a ring.

 

“When Reuniclus join their hands, their psychic power multiplies,” Chaos commented. “With a dozen of them helping each other, they can completely stabilize the portal that’s opening. And what’s behind there is what we want.”

 

The rings soon reached their full width, spread over nearly the entire city. A black circle hung over the tower, and from within it, a bright light shined out.

 

His plan now nearly fully realized, Ghetsis raised his arms toward the sky and stared directly into the portal. He almost wanted to jump up and down due to how intense his excitement was.

 

“Hear my voice and the voices of your people cry up to you!” he thundered, addressing the being within the portal. “Golden light of salvation, descend upon us and rescue those you call your own! Ho-oh, come to me!”

 

The entity got closer to the threshold, prompting Ghetsis to take a deep breath and prepare his next words.

 

“Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

-:-

 

Even though the Sinjoh Ruins were far, far away from Ecruteak City, the figure soaking in the underground lake there could still sense what was happening at Bell Tower. It slowly opened its eyes, but otherwise remained still in the water.

 

 _“Ho-oh is endangered now,”_ it thought. It then visualized Ghetsis and the Team Plasma logo on his cane. _“And by the same people who harmed me. Polaris… Ghetsis is different from the rest of Polaris, but he is still one of them...”_

 

The figure closed its eyes again, and memories flooded into its mind.

 

Some time in the past, it had been placed into a tank in a laboratory. The fluid filling the tank was cold, yet something about the situation felt strangely familiar to the being. When it awoke, it became aware of several technicians clothed in identical Polaris uniforms, seated at computer consoles surrounding the tank. With them were a pair of white-coat-clad scientists, one a portly, gray-haired man and the other a black-haired woman holding a tablet computer. All of them also had matching visors covering their eyes. Hexagon-shaped hologram screens brightened and faded all around the lab.

 

Before long, another man joined the scientists. Unlike all the others, he was cloaked in a black cape, and his face was obscured by a mask the creature recognized as its own face. He walked up to the tank and put his hand on it, then spoke to the creature of his hopes. He claimed that they shared a common enemy, one that had stolen things from them both, and offered that they could work together to get revenge on that organization - Team Rocket. When the creature repeated those words back to him, something about its voice alarmed it.

 

A different memory then came up. This time, the technicians had the creature restrained using energy generated by four of Colress’s drones. The power they generated caused the entity great pain, but a sudden swell of power allowed it to overpower the machines and escape.

 

_“Polaris… you gave me this new power, but you thought you’d get to use me as a weapon once I had it. But I do not take orders from anyone. What I do from now on is my choice… and I will not allow any Pokémon like me to be hurt by anyone like that again. I do this because I will save Ho-oh, and protect the humans who actually have protected me…”_

 

Having steeled its resolve, the figure levitated up out of the lake and spread its arms. The cocoon of light signifying Mega Evolution surrounded it, causing it to emerge with a different shape before disappearing.

  
  


**END of CHAPTER 19**

 

 


	20. The Weight of the World (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The streets of Ecruteak City descend into chaos. With the hidden powers of the Bell Tower in Ghetsis’s hands, Team Plasma rebels against Polaris and begins the systematic elimination of all threats to Ghetsis’s rule. An uneasy alliance between Matt’s group, Team Rocket, the Tenganist Liberation Front, the Gym Leaders and the Frontier Brains arises in a desperate bid to halt Ghetsis’s plans, but even with the intervention of a powerful and surprising ally, the battle may be one not everyone survives.

Well, the time for this climax is finally here. This is going to be an intense chapter with a good deal of destruction and violence, so you’ve been fairly warned.

 

Bay_Alexison provided me with particular help on Bunny’s Pokemon in this chapter, and Spiteful Murkrow, Virgil, ChewieJ and BoredWriterGuy have provided heavy assistance on keeping the writing together.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 20:** The Weight of the World (Part 2)

 

-:-

 

In the far northwest of Johto, the metropolitan splendor of Roséridge City sprawled across the seaside. Sunlight glistened off the countless glass buildings lining the city’s streets, which accentuated its modern, high-tech flare. At night, the lights of the city even made it visible from space. Surrounding the futuristic expanse was a centuries-old historic area, built long before the technology that  allowed the high-rises in the center to overshadow their surroundings was ever conceived.

 

The tallest building in the city was a silvery-blue tower standing many meters above the rest. A penthouse sat on top of the tower just below a glowing golden neon disk topped by gray pylons. Several of its stories were covered by a massive red banner bearing the logo of the Frontier Society. It was the Battle Tower, the nerve center of the entire organization.

 

Anabel’s residence in the penthouse afforded her a wide view of her surroundings thanks to its outer walls being made entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows. It allowed her to see the rainbow rings spreading over Ecruteak City, which made her heart and expression sink as the realization of what was happening seeped into her mind.

 

“I can’t say I’m thrilled that I’m speaking to your back.”

 

Next to Anabel’s wide plush bed was a desk made of finely carved wood. A cutting-edge telephone was placed on it, which was generating a holographic video call of Tobias.

 

“I’m sorry, Governor,” Anabel said, sitting down at the desk and giving him the most attention she could muster, “please forgive me. I am sure you understand…”

 

“Yes, of course. It’s only natural that a mother worries about their children, no? You cannot let go of what is important to you.”

 

Anabel slouched and glanced over to the room’s electric fireplace. On its mantle was an ornate urn she spent several long moments staring at. Usually, she tried not to pay attention to it, but at that time it drew her eyes like metal to a magnet. Though Tobias couldn’t see what was keeping her gaze, but he could tell that she was fighting back tears.

 

“Now I have to ask for your forgiveness,” he said, smiling. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

 

“I-I’m not upset with you,” Anabel stuttered.

 

“Anyway, let’s get back to business,” Tobias declared, his voice becoming serious once again. “In order to help Olivia, we need to coordinate a response. If we work together, we both win, because there are also two Gym Leaders and a Frontier Brain trapped in the city.”

 

“Morty and Kate…” she clarified. “Who is the third?

 

“Falkner. He was at the Battle Hall tournament and hasn’t left the city yet. I’ve contacted Bugsy and Whitney and enlisted their help for this.”

 

“I’ve already gotten my end taken care of as well,” Anabel confirmed. “I could not locate Thorton, and Ethan and Darach weren’t available, but Dahlia and Lyra are already on their way.”

 

“Excellent!” Tobias exclaimed, his face brightening considerably. “I would go myself if I could, but there is so much going on right now that I have to deal with that I can’t make it. I’m sure everything will be okay, though. I believe that if we put our differences as people aside and work toward mutual goals, we can accomplish great things. Please, keep your spirits up.”

 

With that, Tobias ended the call, causing the hologram screen to disappear. Anabel forced herself to stand, then sluggishly dragged herself to the bed and flopped down onto it.

 

“I would go myself too…” she mumbled before weakly waving her hand at the huge, flat television in the room.

 

 _“We are seeing chaos on the streets of Ecruteak City,”_ a newscaster on the television declared. _“Currently, we do not have a video feed of these events, but what we do know is that riots have broken out following the speech given by Polaris spokesman Ghetsis Harmonia. We will continue to follow this story…”_

 

“...but what could I even do?”

 

-:-

 

The light flowing out the center of the rainbow rings intensified as the entity within edged closer and closer to emerging into the world. Despite the blinding glare, Ghetsis continued to stare straight into the abyss, not even making a move to protect his eyes.

 

“Yes, Ho-oh, come forth into our world!” he thundered, spreading his arms in welcome for the legendary Pokémon. “This is your day! Our day! The day we conquer them all!”

 

Behind Ghetsis, the Shadow Triad ll watched their master’s plan unfold with their mouths hanging open behind their masks. The light cascading from the portal glittered in their steely eyes; unlike Ghetsis, however, they were unable to continue staring at it. When they covered their eyes, Pierce smirked.

 

As soon as he felt Darkness and Chaos each release one hand from his body, he swung his elbows to jab them both in the stomach. The captors stumbled back, clutching their abdomens and gasping to get their breath back.

 

“The prisoner got loose!” Chaos shouted as they struggled to see through the blinding light. “Someone catch him!”

 

“Greninja, find him!” Darkness commanded.

 

Greninja jumped forth immediately upon his owner’s order and threw two bunches of Water Shurikens away from the Shadow Triad, but they failed to reach their target and flew off uselessly into the air.

 

While looking around, Pestilence narrowed his eyes and managed to briefly make Pierce out in the glare. He pulled both of Doublade’s swords from the Pokémon’s armor and crossed them in front of himself.

 

“Doublade,” he called out,  “Flash Cannon!”

 

Slightly dulled, silvery light flowed up Doublade’s swords from their tips and gathered at the point where they crossed. That light then burst out in the form of a narrow beam, but it just barely missed Pierce, who lunged sideways abruptly to avoid it. The noise of their target recovering his glider and preparing to launch it gave them a bearing on his location, but before any of them could act, he started to fly off. From the rapidly fading sounds of the glider’s engine, they quickly realized that Pierce had descended rapidly out of their attack range.

 

Darkness grunted, “He escaped…” Turning around, he repeated these words in a much louder voice to Ghetsis.

 

“Don’t worry about him,” Ghetsis responded, remaining rigidly in place as he stared up at the emerging Ho-oh. “He cannot escape his fate now. Now…” Ghetsis further focused his mind, narrowing his sight squarely on the legendary Pokémon. His covered eye began to glow, making his red eyepiece turn yellow. “This is the time of your advent, Ho-oh! Call forth your burning flames and bring justice down upon them all!”

 

In response to Ghetsis’s continued chanting, Ho-oh began to emerge from the portal. Its beak passed through first, and when it did, the light became so bright that it completely inundated the Shadow Triad’s sight.

 

-:-

 

Anabel stayed sprawled on her bed, staring blankly out the windows. From her vantage point, Ho-oh’s light looked  as if the sun itself was swallowing up Ecruteak City.

 

Olivia’s mother slowly pulled herself off the bed and trudged to the window. Once the thick glass was inches from her face, she raised a hand and placed it on the cold surface.

 

-:-

 

Even with their eyes closed and covered, the Shadow Triad could feel the sheer strength of Ho-oh’s light burning into their vision. They dropped to their knees and turned away, which provided them only limited relief.

 

Another problem then presented itself. The light finally started to dim, but in its place, a powerful wind began to tear around the tower. Darkness, Pestilence and Chaos all lowered their arms and braced themselves on their hands and knees against the gale. In mere seconds, however, the wind died down as abruptly as it had arrived. The Triad rose to their feet when they realized the light had also disappeared. When Ghetsis growled from behind them, they turned to see him collapsed onto his knees.

 

“Lord Ghetsis!” Pestilence called out to him.

 

“It’s fine.” Ghetsis hobbled back up on his cane. “Don’t worry yourselves about me. Instead… look to the sky.”

 

Ghetsis’s words helped the Shadow Triad dispel the last bits of shock that lingered in their minds. When they fully came back to their senses, the first thing to greet them was the sound of great wings beating in the open air. They knew what they would see when they looked up, but couldn’t help but stare in awe.

 

The feathers glistening in vibrant red, white and gold, the vast wingspan, the regal crest and tail -  these features combined into the unmistakeable and unforgettable image of Ho-oh, the great phoenix at the center of Ecruteak City’s mythology. The Shadow Triad could only watch as Ho-oh descended toward the tower. Pestilence and Chaos readied their weapons, but when Ho-oh perched itself on the edge of the tower and lowered its head over them, Darkness raised his hand to stop them.

 

“Do you two really have such little faith in Lord Ghetsis?” he scornfully said. “We were all there, so we know the kind of power he got from that Tenganist woman. Such ability in the hands of worthless filth would not accomplish anything, but when used by a man as great as Lord Ghetsis…”

 

Darkness didn’t need to finish his sentence as his point was more than clear to his brothers. They both locked eyes with Ho-oh. After a brief period of close inspection, they finally noticed exactly what they were supposed to see - a red glow around the edge of Ho-oh’s irises. Combined with the fading of its pupils, the legend’s eyes gained a cold, almost zombie-like look.

 

“Darkness, clearly you are the only one who understands what I am capable of.”Ghetsis slowly turned around to grin at his three servants. His eyepiece, instead of its usual dull red color, was illuminated with yellow light. He swung his cape open before thundering, “But now is the time they’ll all come to know what I’m capable of. My age has come at last! Ho-oh will be my weapon, and with you three acting as my right hand we’ll destroy everyone who stands in my way… Team Rocket, the Tenganists, Polaris, anyone or anything that opposes me will be burned to ashes!”

 

“We’ll stand alongside you, Lord Ghetsis!” Darkness exclaimed, snapping his body into an obedient pose that his brothers quickly mirrored.

 

“I knew you three would continue to see reason,” Ghetsis replied, maintaining his devious smirk. He gestured to Anthea and Concordia, who both looked even worse after the summoning of Ho-oh, and added, “These two didn’t learn that lesson and so they will be left here to burn.”

 

-:-

 

While Ghetsis was busy atop Bell Tower, the streets between Ecruteak’s Pokémon Center and the Battle Hall became immersed in activity. A steady stream of refugees seeking the safety of the Frontier Society facility flowed through in a mostly orderly fashion, filing into the arena under Kate, Mako and Nando’s direction. The Kimono Girls were the first to arrive at the Battle Hall and had already gone inside. Meanwhile, Matt, Olivia, Nekou, Bunny, Avril, Monroe, Bill, Audrey, Nikolai and Rowena stood nearby and watched the sky. The sight of the rainbow rings spreading out from their epicenter at the Bell Tower caused sweat to roll down their faces in spite of the cold air.

 

“That can’t be good,” Matt uttered. His stare was blank, and his arms were making slight mechanical noises as they trembled. “Ghetsis said he was going up there, and there’s only one thing it could be for…”

 

“You don’t think…”

 

“Ho-oh,” Bunny said, finishing Monroe’s sentence. “When a certain ritual is performed atop Bell Tower, Ho-oh is summoned. What I don’t understand, though… Ho-oh should disobey Ghetsis and destroy him.”

 

“You’re right about that,” Bill added, resting his right hand on his chin while holding Audrey’s hand with his left. “It’s supposed to be the case that only a worthy person can participate in the ritual and the Kimono Girls are supposed to oversee it. Our mother…” He tightened his grip on his younger sister’s hand. “She always made that very clear, that it was important for the Kimono Girls like her to make sure everything went right, or Ho-oh would go on a vengeful rampage after being summoned. The thing is, I don’t think Ghetsis is the type to have a death wish… I don’t believe that he’d want to sacrifice his life just to send Ho-oh wild. What is missing here?”

 

“I think I know,” Rowena admitted, bringing the attention of the others onto herself. “Matt, you guys were at the Pokémon Center and watched Ghetsis’s speech on television, right?”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“Then you might not have felt it like I did. I was in the square filming the speech. As he was giving it, I felt strange. It was like… it’s not easy to describe, but it was like Ghetsis was inside my head. I don’t understand it but just to venture a guess… what if he’s using some sort of hypnosis to influence his targets?”

 

“There weren’t any Pokémon on the stage with him, but they could have been hidden,” Monroe theorized.

 

“However he did it, that could be the answer,” Matt suggested, his arms shuddering even more. “If he was trying to hypnotize the crowd into following his suggestions, maybe he could do the same thing to Ho-oh.”

 

“We might be in some really deep-” Olivia abruptly cut herself off when she spotted something moving rapidly through the air toward them. She pointed to it and asked, “What is that?”

 

The others looked up in the direction Olivia had indicated. Most of them couldn’t make out what exactly the silver object flying toward them was, but Nekou had an idea that made her stomach sink. When she caught a brief glimpse of the ‘R’ symbol on the underside of the object, she stopped breathing.

 

Moments later, the glider careened into the trees nearby. Nekou wasted no time in running toward the crash site, displaying such haste that she practically launched herself off the ground when she started her sprint. The others initially stared as she disappeared into the brush but quickly followed. When they caught up, they found her leaning down to Pierce, who was sprawled on the ground. His glider lay askew a few feet away.

 

Matt froze when he saw the agent. “Wait, I think I know you…”

 

Even though she knew the others were watching, Nekou was too caught up in her panic to care. “What happened?” she demanded, putting her hands firmly on Pierce’s shoulders.

 

“Everything’s gone wrong…” he said, struggling to speak while catching his breath. “Ghetsis… he got…” Pierce stopped briefly to consider his words. “Giovanni is down…”

 

Her worst fear about the mission was confirmed. Ghetsis had completely and utterly outsmarted them all and even worse, he’d taken out the head of their organization. Well aware that she could not let her next words give her secret away, she remained silent and instead tightened her grip on Pierce’s shoulders. Pierce shifted uncomfortably in response.

 

“What… happened?” she repeated, her voice a tense, barely restrained hiss.

 

“He saw it coming, he saw all of it coming,” Pierce said. “The bridge trap, the bomb…”

 

“Wait, what did you just say?” Matt interjected, his hand slowly approaching his mouth. “What bomb? You were behind it?”

“No, well yes, but…” Nekou shot Pierce a vicious glare, but he ignored her. His body was shaking even under her vice-like grip.

 

“Doesn’t he look like he saw a ghost?” Olivia whispered to Monroe, which earned her a nod in return.

 

“The bomb was supposed to be under the bridge linking the city to Bellchime Trail,” Pierce continued. He was struggling to form coherent words, panting heavily all the while. “We were trying to take Ghetsis and the rest of his Team Plasma allies out, but he saw through our entire plan. Giovanni and I were waiting for someone to get through to the top of Bell Tower but we didn’t expect to have to go up against Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad… we were totally overwhelmed, and Ghetsis cut down Giovanni and took his body and…”

 

“Ghetsis just killed him…?” Bunny gasped. “What does that have to do with the speech and everything? And why did you bomb the square?”

 

“We didn’t!” Pierce shouted back, nearly pushing Nekou aside. He finally looked up, revealing his wide empty eyes. “Ghetsis framed us. The entire thing’s a sham to make Team Rocket take the blame so Polaris looks better!”

 

“I remember where we’ve met before.” Matt stepped toward Pierce and Nekou. “You were that guy in Cherrygrove’s Pokémon Center who warned us about Ghetsis, weren’t you? And then aboard the Magnet Train, you showed up with those other guys when we were fighting against Yung for that meteorite.” Matt stopped and looked down on Pierce, his arms hanging limply at his sides. “Why do you keep helping us? Team Rocket I mean. Why does Team Rocket keep showing up and acting like they’re on our side?”

 

“Because we _are_ on your side!” countered Pierce. “I know it might not make a lot of sense to you right now, but Polaris is our common enemy.”

 

“Prove it,” Bunny demanded, putting her hands on her hips and looking down on Pierce.

 

“I think that speaks for itself,” he replied, turning around and pointing toward the sky.

 

Bunny, Olivia, and the others had to focus to see what Pierce was pointing at, but Matt could see it clearly. In the air near Bell Tower, a group of Pokémon were flying toward Colress’s airship. Darkness and Chaos were aboard Ghetsis’s Metagross. Pestilence was using his Doublade as transport again and Ghetsis himself was on his Hydreigon’s back. Though most of the group didn’t know what they were, Darkness’s Greninja and a chandelier-shaped ghost also flew alongside Ghetsis’ party. As the black Pokémon flew briskly along, the frog hung patiently and carefully from the Ghost-and-Fire-type’s arms by his feet.

 

What most dramatically underlined Pierce’s point, however, was the Pokémon that accompanied them. Ho-oh pushed through the air with its broad multicolored wings. Despite not knowing what had happened at the tower, the onlookers knew something was wrong from the zombie-like way the legend followed Ghetsis.

 

“I had such a bad feeling,” Nikolai quietly said, staring skyward with his thin frame slightly slouched over, “and it was from that. I’m sure of it…”

 

“But how?” Audrey wondered. “Why is Ho-oh doing this? Mom always told us that someone with a pure heart was needed…”

 

“You’re right.” Bill then turned to Pierce and added, “Someone with the abilities of the Kimono Girls is also necessary. What aren’t you telling us?”

 

“Those…” Fearing that revealing the truth about himself would open up a weakness, Pierce choked. He quickly decided to put aside his hesitation, however. “Those women he brought on stage with him during the speech. Did you see them?”

 

“The two he said were Tenganists?”

 

Pierce nodded in response to Avril’s question and then continued, “He forced them to open the seal on Bell Tower and summon Ho-oh. I had to watch my mother get forced to do it…”

 

Aside from Nekou, the crowd surrounding Pierce collectively gasped when they heard his words.

 

“Your mother…? She’s one of them?”

 

“Yes, Matt, she is. Without Giovanni, I am powerless to save her…” Pierce forced himself to stand, pushing his hands against his knees to support himself. “I know what you’ll say to this, but please,  help me.”

 

“What about your other allies?” Bunny asked him.

 

“We’re already short on manpower trying to deal with all the other Polaris members around this city. I have… I have nobody else to turn to.”

 

Matt and Bunny looked to Pierce and then to Nekou. They then back to each other again, sharing a knowing glance between each other.

 

“I don’t like this,” Bunny firmly said while clenching her fist.

 

“I don’t either, but…” Matt looked down at his shoes for a moment, then continued, “...I don’t think we really have much choice. All hell’s breaking loose on the streets, Ghetsis has Ho-oh, we can’t run…”

 

“How did he get control of Ho-oh anyway?” Bill blurted out. “What Pokémon is he using for hypnosis?”

 

“Pokémon?” Pierce wondered, furrowing his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

 

“Ghetsis has been using some kind of hypnosis since his speech,” Rowena explained. “I felt it in the crowd. I assume that must be how he got Ho-oh to obey, but there was no sign of any Pokémon at the speech, so which one is it?”

 

Realizing what Rowena was referring to, Pierce shut his eyes. “He isn’t using a Pokémon. Ghetsis… somehow has a Transcendence of his own.” Ignoring the gasps he was once again being met with, he kept talking. “I don’t understand it. He used it to control Ho-oh, but he clearly wasn’t using it during the speech…”

 

“It’s not fair!” Olivia suddenly screamed, interrupting Pierce’s thought as she fell to her knees herself. “Dad, if you were here, I wouldn’t have to go through this! You’d fix it, you fixed everything before! I can’t…” She looked up to the sky, tears rolling down her face. “I can’t take this on my own anymore!”

 

“Olivia, please, don’t do this to yourself…”

 

“Shut up!” Olivia’s anger drove her to pound her fist into the ground, and Matt flinched at her words. “You didn’t know him long enough to learn what he was capable of! How could you help me now when you have no idea what to do?!”

 

“Olivia…”  
  
Sensing Matt was about to make the situation worse, Bunny intervened. “Olivia, it’s not about what he’s capable of or what your father was capable of. Right here, right now, it’s about what you’re capable of.”

 

“Olivia, listen to me.” Having at least partially snapped out of her daze, Nekou lowered herself to Olivia’s level and put her hands on Olivia’s shoulders. “You can’t be blamed for being angry and scared. I’m angry and scared now, too. You have to confront those feelings, and I’ll be right there to help you. Right now, we have to survive this whole thing. If you don’t, you’ll never have a chance to tackle how you feel, and you’ll die with all these regrets.”

 

For a short time, Olivia silently considered Nekou’s words. She eventually squirmed out of Nekou’s grip and stood back up.

 

“I don’t think I’m capable of doing anything… but if you think I can…”

 

“I hate to interrupt,” Pierce said, once more ignoring the dirty look Nekou gave him, “but we are running out of time.”

 

Not noticing Olivia shrinking back, Matt stepped up to Pierce and extended his hand. “Fine, in order to resolve all this, I accept your proposition. I suggest that Nekou and I go after Ghetsis, you head for your mother, and everyone else can see what they can do about the riots.”

 

“Ghetsis has those ninjas with him,” Pierce said, though he did shake Matt’s hand in spite of his nerves. Matt could feel Pierce’s hand trembling, even through his glove.

 

“I can deal with them,” Nekou mumbled, barely loud enough for Pierce to hear.

 

“Let’s hit the road then.” Matt said, his voice lacking in any sort of real emotion. He turned away from Pierce, Nekou and the others, took two Poké Balls out of his bag, and opened them. His Golurk and Salamence appeared alongside each other in twin flashes of light and stretched their bodies while he put their capsules away and spoke to the two Pokémon. “Sally, Hethna, we’re going up there…” He gestured toward Colress’s ship, just in time for Ho-oh to pass his pointing fingers before continuing, “...but when we do,  you two are going to have to go up against that Pokémon. Are you up for it?”

 

Owing to its long life, Hethna responded immediately and enthusiastically, raising its giant gray fists in consent with the plan. On the other hand, Sally, hesitated. The Salamence lowered her head, closed her eyes and growled while restlessly shifting her weight back and forth.

 

“She’s afraid,” Nikolai identified, stretching his arms out toward Sally. “Ho-oh is a Pokémon like few others. Even if one has never met it before,  its presence is something that deeply impacts the heart from sight alone.”

 

“You aren’t kidding about that,” Monroe said. He nervously adjusted his tie, his eyes not moving an inch away from staring at Ho-oh in the sky. “I can feel my bones shaking.”

 

After a beat, Matt weakly smiled. He stepped up to Sally and put a reassuring hand on her head, making her suddenly open her eyes.

 

“Sally, I can’t blame you. I’m scared too. But you and I… we’ve been through a lot of shit together, haven’t we? So what if it’s a bigger challenge than anything before? I’m here, Hethna’s here too, Nekou will be with us… I think we have it in us, just like all those other times. Do you?”

 

Though still nervous, Sally felt enough of a boost from her trainer’s words to let out a short, low grunt in response to his question. That encouragement, however, didn’t carry over to Nekou, who stepped closer to Matt while keeping her eyes down and her arms limp at her sides.

 

“Stop this shit. What are you, fucking suicidal? Did _nothing_ I said to you about there being nothing after death mean a fucking thing?”

 

“I’ll be going, too,” Pierce intervened, recognizing that the conversation was not going to go anywhere good. Matt opened his mouth to say something back to her, but backed down with Pierce’s interruption. He pointed at the glider and said, “That machine was created for my use by Team Rocket’s top scientist. It’s outfitted with weaponry, so since we’re both going to need to get past Ho-oh for our goals, I’ll help you until we get through.”

 

“Wait,” Nikolai spoke up, bringing the attention of the others onto himself, “take me with you. Ho-oh is in such pain right now… I must do something!” As his anger and frustration grew, he started gesturing wildly once again. “I can hear Ho-oh’s voice from here. It wants so badly to free itself from Ghetsis’s control, but he’s too tightly wound around its mind! I have to save it!”

 

“No, stay here,” Nekou answered, her voice remaining sullen and gloomy. “If Ghetsis sees you, he’ll want to recapture you. You might not realize it, but if Ghetsis gets his hands on you, a lot fucking more Pokémon will be in trouble.”

 

“I won’t accept that!” Nikolai roared, grabbing at his own coat’s collar. “I cannot stand by while such a beautiful Pokémon is hurt like this!”

 

“Bill, Audrey.” The brother and sister approached Nekou when she beckoned to them. She instructed, “He’s not going to listen to reason. Take him inside the Battle Hall for his safety.”

 

Bill looked to his sister, shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess we really don’t have too much choice.” He then turned toward Nikolai, but before he could say a single word, Nikolai forcefully shook his head.

 

“No, I’m not going! I can help Ho-oh and you won’t stop me!”

 

Seeing Nikolai’s resistance, Nekou shut her eyes, sighed, and popped open one of her Poké Balls to release her Murkrow. “We don’t have time for this shit. Lenore, Thunder Wave.”

 

Without even a second of hesitation, Lenore released a pulse of electricity by spreading her wings. Nikolai’s body seized up when it hit him, and he fell to his knees.

 

“Thank me later,” she said, ignoring Bill and Audrey’s shocked looks while she recalled Lenore. “Get going.”

 

“Are you sure you had to do that?” Matt said with a sigh, while behind him, Bill and Audrey brought Nikolai toward the Battle Hall. He sighed again and dropped the subject when Nekou raised her middle finger at him. “Whatever, I guess. It’s time to go.” He started toward Hethna and Sally, but after only a few steps, he stopped and turned around. “Olivia, if you’re going to be helping the others deal with the riots, please, be careful. Let me give you a hand.”

 

Reaching into his bag, Matt pulled out his Dusk Ball and opened it, causing his Heatran to appear in a flash of light. He then tossed the ball to Olivia.

 

“Keep Tanya with you, and stay safe.”

 

With that, Matt nodded quickly to Nekou and Pierce, prompting her to follow him to his Pokémon while Pierce retrieved his glider. Nobody noticed Olivia bitterly gazing down at the Dusk Ball in her hands, her eyelids and lip quivering.

 

-:-

 

Powerful winds churned around Colress’s airship, whipping around the Shadow Triad’s wigs and billowing out Ghetsis’s cape. Every now and then, the winds would subside a little, and then roar back to life, fueled by the beats of Ho-oh’s wings as it lurched along like a zombie. They were alone on the ship, having recalled all their Pokémon.

 

“I’ve waited so long and traveled so far to find a weapon like you…” Ghetsis said to Ho-oh, the memories of his failed crusade in Unova flooding back into his mind. Those memories of pursuing legendary Pokémon and being beaten again and again by multiple enemies made him angrily squeeze his cane until his knuckles went white beneath his glove. “Zekrom, Genesect… all of them, they didn’t make my dreams come true. But you, Ho-oh, you are different! With you fully submitted to my control, all that I have worked for in life is finally at hand!”

 

“Congratulations, Lord Ghetsis!” Darkness shouted over the wind. “Remember, when you take power, we’ll still loyally serve you!”

 

“Yes, you will,” Ghetsis responded, looking over his shoulder at the trio. “Ho-oh can’t do everything… but I think it’s about time we get started on what Ho-oh _can_ do.” Directing his full attention back to Ho-oh, Ghetsis raised his cane to point at the Pokémon and ordered, “Go forth, Ho-oh! Go forth and consume everything in my way with your Sacred Fire!”

 

A slight, obedient hiss slipped from Ho-oh’s beak, and it lurched around in the air as its master had directed. Its eyes settled on the Dance Hall far below, and as Ho-oh drew in a deep breath, a huge blue fireball began to form in its mouth. Ghetsis stood by and watched, grinning, as the flames’ light sparkled in his eye.

 

_“Erase my most hated enemy first, destroy everything those people hold dear to them… then the rest of Polaris… by then, nobody will be left to stop me. Team Rocket? That bunch Finansielle is so fascinated by? Don’t make me laugh, they don’t even hold a candle to me!”_

 

By the time Ghetsis finished his thought, the fireball in Ho-oh’s mouth had reached its full size. Ho-oh reared back, preparing to launch it, but a sudden blast of water cut it off, causing the attack to prematurely break apart.

 

“Seems we have some guests,” Ghetsis said out loud, unfazed by the sudden arrival of Sally and Hethna to challenge him. Matt and Nekou were riding on the Golurk’s back, while the Salamence had disrupted Ho-oh’s attack using Hydro Pump. Next to the two Pokémon, Pierce hovered on his glider.

 

“No matter,” he scoffed. “They won’t stop me.”

 

“Should we attack them?” Pestilence asked.

 

“No, I’ll take care of it. Let them be Ho-oh’s appetizer.”

 

-:-

 

At their position in the forest, the Prophet and her followers silently watched the events unfolding within the city, using one of Hoopa’s rings as a window to view what was happening. When she saw the confrontation between Matt, Nekou and Ghetsis, she lowered her head and clenched her teeth.

 

“Matt… all of them, they’re going to get themselves all killed.” The Prophet turned to the other Tenganists and said to them, “We’re not waiting any longer. It’s time for us to move in and save what and who we can.”

 

“What should we do?” the green-haired woman with the radar Transcendence questioned.

 

“Sindre, you stay with me. It’ll make what I have to do easier. Now, the next thing… it looked to me like Ghetsis was going to have Ho-oh burn down the Dance Hall.”

 

“He’s trying to erase our history, isn’t he?” one of the others, a tall, well-built man with shaggy brown hair, said.

 

“You’re right, Kristos, and that’s your job to deal with. Go along with Lotus to the Dance Hall and work together to protect it.”

 

The tiny woman next to Kristos tightened her grasp on his hands. “Are you really sure? Shouldn’t we be protecting you?”

 

“I’ll…” The Prophet looked down and frowned slightly. “I’ll have my own protection. Don’t worry about me. I’m not as important as protecting our culture, and you two together with your Camouflage and Barrier are just what’s needed.”

 

“My leader…”

 

“My dear, you mustn’t worry about her,” Kristos quietly said, looking deeply into Lotus’s eyes while the Prophet turned her back to them. “She’s a survivor. After everything she’s gone through she won’t fall apart so easily.”

 

While the others talked amongst themselves, the Prophet stepped toward Hoopa’s ring, which quickly closed. The small genie Pokémon appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and floated up to her.

 

“Hoopa…” The Prophet leaned down to Hoopa’s level, causing the ends of her cloak to bunch up on the ground, and touched Hoopa’s head. “I know that when we found you, I promised to take you in and protect you from all the people looking to exploit your power. Right now, though, I need your help. Please, lend me your powers. Transcend the confines of time and space...”

 

For a few moments, the Prophet used her Transcendence, linking her heart with Hoopa’s in silence. Once it understood her request, Hoopa smiled and giggled.

 

-:-

 

The sky over Ecruteak City wasn’t the only area consumed by fighting. While Matt, Nekou and Pierce began to engage Ho-oh with Golurk, Salamence and the glider, the Team Rocket agents in the woods were locked in combat against Archer and Zinzolin. Proton’s Pangoro took on both Cryogonal and Glalie, striking the Ice-types with individual Dragon Claw attacks using both of his muscular arms. Zinzolin’s Vanilluxe loomed up behind Pangoro, an Ice Beam starting to take form in each of his two mouths.

 

“Primeape, help Pangoro!” Trevor called out to his Pokémon. “Cross Chop!”

 

Screeching a vicious battle cry, Trevor’s Primeape sprang toward Vanilluxe like a bullet, his arms crossed and his fists glowing. Undeterred, Archer simply continued scratching his chin, as he had a habit of doing.

 

“Sudowoodo,” he calmly directed, “use Wood Hammer.”

 

Before Primeape could strike at Vanilluxe, Sudowoodo got in the way and swung his glowing green arm right into the Fighting-type’s body, throwing him away. Seconds later, Vanilluxe blasted Pangoro in the back with his twin Ice Beams, knocking him to his knees. Now freed from fighting Pangoro for the moment, Cryogonal and Glalie turned their attention to Ada’s Fearow and Petrel’s Raticate, with Zinzolin’s Jynx jumping in next to them for support.

 

“We’ve got you now, Team Rocket!” Zinzolin cried out, making fists of excitement with both his hands. “Cryogonal, Frost Breath! Glalie, Blizzard! Jynx, Avalanche!”

 

“Fearow, use Double Team, then Steel Wing!”

 

“Raticate, you cover Fearow. Hit Jynx with Sucker Punch!”

 

Ada’s Fearow started masking her position with illusionary copies of herself, and Raticate lunged and tackled Jynx, stunning her briefly. Fearow then flew toward Glalie and Cryogonal with her wings glowing like metal, using the copies to misdirect away their gusts of ice. She managed to cut through both of them, but Jynx recovered, raised her arms and screamed, calling down a number of boulders of snow to batter Fearow’s body.

 

Meanwhile, as her companions fought against their traitorous former ally and his own partner, Rosalie sat by with Ariana, staring blankly at the explosions in the sky.

 

-:-

 

Matt and Nekou clung desperately to Hethna’s back as one of Ho-oh’s massive electrical blasts flew just a few feet above them. The wind generated by the Thunder attack pulled at their bodies, forcing them to hold on even more tightly than they already were.

 

“We made a big mistake doing this head-on!” Matt yelled over the wind. “I should have known we didn’t have the firepower to make it!”

 

“Where the fu[/u]ck is Pierce…”

 

“Who’s Pierce?” When she realized Matt had heard her, Nekou flinched and almost started to lose her grip on Hethna. Matt didn’t notice this, and continued questioning, “That guy’s name is Sam, isn’t it? Remember back to Cherrygrove…”

 

“Pay more fucking attention to this shit right now!” Nekou screamed back at him. “Do you want to fucking die?!”

 

Dramatically underlining Nekou’s point, Ho-oh drilled Hethna squarely in the chest with a rainbow-colored beam of light. The Golurk abruptly spun and lost altitude, thoroughly rattling both it and its passengers, who held on for their lives.

 

Up on the airship, the Shadow Triad had gotten closer to Ghetsis in the hopes of getting a better look at the unfolding battle. They stared in awe at how mobile Ho-oh was as it relentlessly pursued Hethna and Sally, who were struggling to outrun its intense barrage. Hethna had to twist around in the air in order to escape another Thunder sent its way, almost throwing Matt and Nekou off its back in the process.

 

Overseeing the fight with slightly raised eyebrows and his typical grin, Ghetsis told the Shadow Triad, “They’ll make a good warmup for Ho-oh. After finishing them off, the rest of Polaris is next.”

 

“Lord Ghetsis, if I may,” Chaos piped up, “why have Ho-oh use Thunder against a partially Ground-type Pokémon like Golurk?”

 

“Do not question Lord Ghetsis’s judgment,” Darkness harshly warned.

 

“It’s fine,” Ghetsis said without turning around, “I don’t care. To answer that question, Thunder might not do damage to Golurk, but those two aboard it don’t have its immunity, especially the robot. I don’t get why Finansielle is so interested in him. Regardless…” Raising his arm again, Ghetsis commanded, “Ho-oh, consume them in your flames! They won’t escape that!”

 

Ho-oh immediately began inhaling to create another blue fireball, filling the air with the loud rumbling of its breath. Nekou stared emptily into  the flames, almost as if she was daring Ho-oh to completely engulf her in it. Matt, however, had other plans.

 

“Sally, Hethna, retreat!” he shouted with all his strength. “We can’t stop that attack, so the only way we survive this is to avoid it!”

 

His Golurk swung the rockets in its arms straight down and barreled its passengers up out of harm’s way, Matt’s Salamence twisted downward, inverting her body to fly away from Ho-oh from below. Even with these efforts, Ho-oh’s Sacred Fire was so massive that it nearly swallowed up the two Pokémon anyway. The fire tore through the air just below Hethna and above Sally, passing them before heading for the overdeveloped half of the city.

 

-:-

 

One of the groups on the ground was rushing toward the Pokémon Center, with Bunny and Nando at its head. Olivia, Monroe and Avril as well as Tanya the Heatran ran just behind them, while Rowena was at the back filming everything. As they dashed down a stone road framed by trees, they froze when they noticed the fight unfolding above them. All they could do was watch as Ho-oh’s Sacred Fire sailed off and exploded against a tall building in the distance, immediately setting it ablaze like a gigantic match. As the light from the passing flame faded from their eyes, they could see Matt and Nekou with his Pokémon in the sky.

 

“Those two are in trouble…” Monroe whispered hoarsely, his limbs becoming heavy and weak as his heart sank at the sight of their friends’ struggle far above. He looked to the older members of the group and said, “Can’t we do something?”

 

“It looks like Miss Rowena is quite busy with her filming,” Nando said, his voice maintaining its usual gentle tone even though it now carried an unusually serious edge. One of his hands emerged from beneath his cape clutching an Ultra Ball, and he continued, “But that does not mean we are not capable of assisting them. Dragonite, make your entry!”

 

“I think I like where you’re taking this, Nando,” Bunny added, with two Poké Balls of her own in her hands. She threw them and announced, “We’ll join in! Xatu! Sky!”

 

The three spheres burst open, releasing the Pokémon they contained. Nando’s Dragonite landed with a crash on the path, cracking the stones beneath his feet. The Xatu that Jacob sent to Bunny deftly positioned himself to Dragonite’s left, while Sky, Bunny’s Drifblim, floated to Dragonite’s right. Bunny stepped toward the three Pokémon and spread her arms out.

 

“Sky, Xatu… I need you to go with Dragonite to help Matt and Nekou, but I’m sending you into a fight unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Look up.” Bunny pointed upward at Ho-oh and continued, “That’s your opponent. Yes, the legendary Ho-oh. I’m sorry to send into a fight of this magnitude, but winning just means holding Ho-oh off, not defeating it. Are you sure you can manage?”

 

“And Dragonite, my friend, what of you?”

 

Dragonite was the first to respond, enthusiastically howling his willingness to go along with Nando’s request. Nando had raised him into a talented, agile performer for Pokémon Contests, and those same techniques also made him capable of facing many strong opponents. Most importantly, the training made the Dragonite develop great confidence in his skills, a confidence which pushed aside any fear of Ho-oh the dragon might have had.

 

As for Bunny’s two Pokémon, their reactions differed both from Dragonite’s and from each other’s. Xatu simply closed his eyes, reflecting on his long life, mainly spent at Jacob’s side. They’d been through a lot, even before Jacob’s obsessions consumed him and forced them apart. Even though they had never even come close to facing anything like Ho-oh, Xatu felt secure from his experiences. Sky, on the other hand, shrunk back. Just seeing Ho-oh was enough to send shivers down every nerve in Sky’s body.

 

Sensing Sky’s fear, Xatu floated over to him and touched the Ghost-and-Flying-type Pokémon with one of his wings. Sky slowly turned around, and the two Pokémon spent a few moments conversing before Bunny spoke up.

 

“Sky, if you don’t want to go, that’s okay. You can stay here with me.” These words brought noticeable relief to the Drifblim, who exhaled deeply. Bunny beckoned him over to her side, and he wasted no time in floating over. Bunny gently stroked his head, then turned back to Xatu. “Xatu, I won’t force you to do this. If you can’t handle it, bail out.”

 

“There’s not going to be any bailing out because you aren’t going anywhere.”

 

From the trees next to the road, two figures emerged. Bunny froze in her tracks when she realized who they were - Dino and Lucky. Nando scowled slightly at them, while Olivia and Avril both had their faces contorted into much more obvious expressions of anger. Rowena, meanwhile, simply kept filming. On their parts, Lucky had her hands held firmly behind her back and avoided looking straight at the group, while Dino was much more outgoing.

 

“Imagine seeing you all here!” he cheerfully said, holding his hands in his pockets like he usually did. “Of course, I’m not really surprised.”

 

“Polaris sent you, didn’t they?” Olivia growled through clenched teeth. “After that speech from Ghetsis…”

 

“Someone give the girl a prize, we’ve got a winner!” Dino taunted her. “Although, don’t get me wrong. I owe no allegiance to someone like Ghetsis.” At that point, Dino knew Lucky was staring daggers at him, but he ignored it. “My loyalty is to Father’s vision of a world freed from the shackles of this society, and so I have to keep you busy while every second of that little fight above our heads is documented.”

 

“Documented?” Monroe asked aloud.

 

“I’ve already said too much. Now, I think it’s time we start playing.”

 

Before anyone in the group could stop him, Dino tore three Poké Balls from his coat and threw them. Olivia could not recognize any of them. One was a craggy, gargoyle-like creature with a crimson-colored head that contrasted sharply against her blue body. Another was a stout-bodied deer wrapped in brown-and-white fur, with two white horns rising from her head. Finally, the last of the Pokémon was a red, round ape with eyebrows of fire, long, muscular arms, and a wild grin.

 

_“Druddigon, the Cave Pokémon. Type is Dragon. It races through narrow caves, using its sharp claws to catch prey. The skin on its face is harder than a rock. It warms its body by absorbing sunlight with its wings. When its body temperature falls, it can no longer move._

 

_Sawsbuck, the Season Pokémon. Type is Normal/Grass. Evolved form of Deerling. They migrate according to the seasons. People can tell the season by looking at Sawsbuck's horns. Some people call Sawsbuck the harbingers of spring. This Sawsbuck is Winter Form._

 

_Darmanitan, the Blazing Pokémon. Type is Fire. Evolved form of Darumaka. When one is injured in a fierce battle, it hardens into a stone-like form. Then it meditates and sharpens its mind. Its internal fire burns at 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, making enough power that it can destroy a dump truck with one punch.”_

 

“I hope you enjoyed getting a good look at these Pokémon of mine,” Dino continued taunting Olivia as she put her Pokédex away. “Tell me you appreciated them. After all, they did help pull me out of the pit I was in as a kid…” For a moment, Dino paused and shut his eyes. His memories of his childhood on Castelia City’s streets filled his mind, and he became lost in them. Every sight, smell and touch he experienced became fresh once more, as if he was still living those days in the present. The memories angered him, and he tightened his fists in his pockets before opening his eyes. “I was able to pull myself out, but I was one of the few lucky ones! Why can’t you understand that what we’re trying to do is going to help people like that?”

 

“Maybe there’s a few things that should be talked about,” Olivia countered, “but destroying a city isn’t how you do that! Can’t you do something else, get your message out some other way instead of starting riots and burning down a city?”

 

“Shut up!” Dino roared back. Though he wasn’t sure, Nando even thought he could see slight tears in the corner of the Polaris member’s eyes. “Nobody takes notice if you do it peacefully. We could spend years talking about this, and nothing would get done! If you want to accomplish something, you have to take action, but what would you know about that… born with the silver spoon in your mouth, never having to really question where your future comes from…”

 

Dino’s words cut right to Olivia’s heart, and she took a step back. Her sunken, pale face reflected her internal ill feeling, and when Monroe noticed, he started to reach for one of his Poké Balls.

 

Before Monroe could act, however, Dino said, “Enough, I don’t have to explain any more of this to you. Druddigon, Dragon Claw! Sawsbuck, Seed Bomb! Darmanitan, Fire Punch!”

 

All three of Dino’s Pokémon tightened their muscles in preparation for their attacks, but before they could do anything, they were interrupted by an unexpected counterattack. An Air Slash followed by a beam of red light shot down at Sawsbuck and Druddigon’s feet first and held them back. A Shadow Ball came immediately after, and then a Dark Pulse swept across all three Pokémon. By the time the assault ended, Dino’s own attempted offensive had failed, and his Pokémon were stuck defending themselves.

 

The sound of several voices laughing rang through the air, and Dino and Lucky both looked up, anger and frustration clouding their vision. A familiar man and a woman wearing jetpacks descended into view, accompanied by a Swoobat, a Vivillon, a Cofagrigus and an Inkay.

 

“Prepare for trouble, we’ll save the day!”

 

“And make it double, Polaris won’t be getting its way!”

 

“You can’t be serious,” Lucky groaned.

 

 _“Team Rocket helping us yet again…”_ Bunny thought.

 

Jessie and James continued to descend alongside their Pokémon, and kept reciting their motto as they did so.

 

“We’re protecting the world from Polaris’s devastation…”

 

“And we’ll put all the people in our Team Rocket nation!”

 

“We might denounce the evils of truth and love…”

 

“But this time you’ll be heading into the skies above!”

 

When they finally landed, Jessie and James wasted no time in posing dramatically.

 

“Jessie!”

 

“James!”

 

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light…”

 

“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!”

 

To finish the motto, Meowth dropped down perfectly at the center of the formation and said, “Meowth! That’s right!”

 

“Are you done?” Lucky growled, hate burning in her eyes.

 

“I’m sure they are,” Dino said, answering her question as he stared straight ahead at Jessie, James, Meowth and their Pokémon. His own voice lowered into a growl, as he warned, “That said, you three… get out of our way. I haven’t got any sympathy left for relics of the past like you.”

 

“And we haven’t got sympathy for a bunch of self-destructive idiots like you,” Jessie countered.

 

“Self-destructive idiots?” Lucky found herself suppressing a laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.”

 

“We’ll see who’ll walk away from this, and who’ll fly away!”

 

While James threatened Dino and Lucky, Meowth made his way toward Olivia and the others. “You guys go get out of here. Those two? They’re our problem.”

 

“Now I’m taking orders from a talking Meowth?” Bunny complained, crossing her arms and pouting. “One that works for Team Rocket? What are you even…”

 

The conversation was interrupted by a sudden explosion nearby. While Meowth had been talking to Bunny, fighting flared up between Jessie, James and Dino. A great gust from the clash of Vivillon’s cyclone attack and Sawsbuck’s Seed Bomb tore through the area, rustling the trees and blowing their fallen leaves everywhere.

 

“Hurry!” Meowth screamed at the group. “Get out of here and help the Slowpoke bail from the Pokémon Center!”

 

Unable to argue with him any further, Bunny quickly nodded to the others. She pointed out a path that would allow them to get just around the fighting, but when she attempted to lead them past, Lucky blocked their way.

 

“I loathe doing this with every bone in my body,” she fumed. Her fingers were trembling around the Poké Ball in her hand. “If I had my way these disgusting things would be gone from the world and all Pokémon would be free, but… if I have to use one to get to that goal, so be it.”

 

Without letting go of the Poké Ball, Lucky opened it. In a flash of light, a lithe, purple feline Pokémon covered in patches of yellow appeared, and snarled loudly within seconds of taking shape.

 

“In the end this society is controlled by these things,” Lucky growled, looking at the Poké Ball. “Pokémon get imprisoned inside them, and in order to advance humans need to buy them, and the money just keeps the cycle going… when my dreams come true, all of it will be torn apart.”  Lucky finally stuffed the Poké Ball away in her pocket, turning her attention back to her enemies with a leering snarl, “But for right now, I’ll settle for tearing you apart. Liepard, Dark Pulse!”

 

“Tanya, you stop it with your Dark Pulse!”

 

Lucky’s Liepard opened her mouth, and a cluster of dark energy rings took shape in front of her, while Matt’s Heatran stomped out in front of Olivia and countered with a similar action. The two blasts collided explosively when their respective users fired them, cancelling each other out in a violent gust of wind. Olivia, Monroe, Avril and Bunny all flinched and covered their eyes from the explosion, but despite being as close to it as they were, Lucky just stood rigidly still, fixated on her enemies.

 

“You can’t stall the future!”

 

In the face of Lucky’s threat, Meowth stepped forward, then looked over his shoulder to the others. “I told you guys, go! I’ve got a score to settle here!”

 

“Are you crazy, taking that thing on alone?”

 

“Obviously he is!” Lucky laughed, answering Avril’s question. “Step right up if you’ve got a death wish! I don’t care if you’re a Pokémon, you’re Team Rocket and so you have to go! Liepard, Iron Tail!”

 

With another high-pitched snarl, Liepard jumped at Meowth, her tail glowing with a metallic sheen. Meowth grimaced, braced himself and unsheathed his claws, but before he could take any further action, a ball of purple slime shot past him and hit Liepard in the face, abruptly cutting her attack off. Only a mere second later, Jessie’s Goomy shot past him and collided with Liepard in a violent Body Slam.

 

“What just happened?” Monroe wondered out loud while blinking rapidly. Goomy had since separated from Liepard, only to immediately leap up and bite her head, eliciting a similar puzzled reaction from Lucky.

 

“A squishy little bug just gave you the chance to get away!” Meowth screeched at them. “I’m not gonna say it again! Run for it!”

 

After a brief hesitation while they watched Liepard struggle to shake Goomy off her head, Olivia and the others finally took Meowth’s advice and began to run. Lucky scowled at them as they passed her, but with Meowth and Goomy occupying her only Pokémon, she was powerless to stop them.

 

_“Fine, go. Burn in the fire that will consume this city instead.”_

 

-:-

 

Tired of running from Ho-oh, Sally spun around in the air to gaze straight into the legendary Pokémon’s eyes. Ho-oh stopped moving as well, and the two had a brief standoff, trading low growls with each other. Almost as soon as the lull came, it broke again as their fight resumed. Sally brought up water deep in her throat, preparing to launch a Hydro Pump. Before the water left her maw, Ho-oh sensed her impending attack and responded by shooting a violent cluster of lightning from its body.

 

When the two attacks collided, Ho-oh’s Thunder slowed but did not stop. Its loss of pace from the force of Hydro Pump was compensated by its current crackling through the water, shooting  up the stream and right down Sally’s throat. The Salamence roared in agony and twitched as her muscles were roiled by the immense shock, dropping some distance before managing to begin recovering.

 

“Sally!” Matt cried out in horror. He tightened his grip on Hethna’s back, so much so that a more fleshy Pokémon would have surely cried out in pain from it.

 

“If Sally gets paralyzed and we lose our cover, we’re fucked,” Nekou muttered.

 

“Don’t you think I know that?” Matt snapped back. “How about you just cross your fingers and hope she isn’t…”

 

The rest of Matt’s sentence got caught in his throat when Ho-oh loomed over them, having closed the distance in the blink of an eye. A wave of helplessness and despair flooded his mind, he tried to quickly review his options. As he tried to think of some way to respond to the great bird, he did not notice Nekou staring up at Ho-oh and struggling to stop her fear from invading her face.

 

 _“Earthquake won’t work in the air like this, and all Hethna’s other moves are punches, which would reduce our mobility-”_ These strategic thoughts quickly fell apart as a bright blue light washed over Matt, Nekou and Hethna. It was coming from Ho-oh’s mouth, evidence that a point-blank Sacred Fire was imminent. _“No, not after all of this…”_

 

Nekou, meanwhile, was unable to contain her emotions any longer. With her eyes watering as she shut them, she screamed, “I can’t die! I can’t go back there again!”

 

The light kept getting brighter, forcing Matt to close his eye as well, but when the inevitable explosion came, neither of them felt the flames they thought would consume them. Still, with her fear continuing to course through every fiber of her body, Nekou didn’t open her eyes until she heard Matt gasping next to her.

 

Ho-oh was once again a short distance away from them, and Xatu and Dragonite were flying in front of them to provide protection. They had intervened with Xatu first using Psychic to briefly restrain Ho-oh with blue light so Dragonite could fly in and strike Ho-oh with rings of water. Dragonite took a moment to catch his breath after  using the Water Pulse, while Xatu held Ho-oh for as long as he could before the legendary Pokémon pulled free.

 

“Dragonite? Xatu?” Nekou said in shock.

 

“They must be Nando’s and Bunny’s,” Matt guessed. “Good thing, too, we needed the help.”

 

Recovering, Ho-oh let out an ear-splitting screech at all of the people and Pokémon opposing its master’s wishes. In its empty rage, it quickly fired another rainbow-colored beam from its body, its sights trained on Xatu. Dragonite, unwilling to allow his partner to take the Signal Beam, cut it off with another Water Pulse.

 

This just provoked Ho-oh further, prompting it to shift its focus to Dragonite. Ho-oh focused its power to the golden plumage on its head, which shot out a white sphere of energy. The sphere flew high into the air before beginning its rapid descent, its speed rendering Xatu unable to quickly get a lock on it with his psychic powers. As a result, Dragonite was forced to point his head straight toward the Weather Ball and launch an orange energy cluster of his own from his mouth towards it. The two attacks collided with a brilliant explosion, which stopped Ho-oh’s attack in a cloud of smoke, while Dragonite’s burst apart into numerous meteors that rained down over the city.

 

“Nando’s Dragonite’s Draco Meteor is as powerful as it was when I first saw it,” Matt said in awe, his mind flashing back to when he’d seen Nando battling Olivia’s father with Dragonite five years prior.

 

“That’s nice and all,” Nekou replied, “but now its attacks are all going to be weaker. Draco Meteor, Water Pulse, unless it has a physical move, this doesn’t help us.”

 

Nekou’s warning bore out almost immediately, as Ho-oh loosed a Thunder in Dragonite’s direction and, despite his best efforts to dispel it with a cyclone of wind, he could only lessen its strength before the bolt bore down on him. Despite it not being as strong or direct as the Thunder that had afflicted Sally earlier, Dragonite was still thrown back in the air, the electricity crackling around his body. He managed to steady himself much more quickly than Sally had.

 

Seizing the opening this presented, Ho-oh rushed in, bearing its talons directly at Dragonite. Xatu flew between them and began to use Psychic again, but he was unable to significantly slow Ho-oh’s pace before much of the distance between them was already closed.

 

A blast of electricity from nearby suddenly hit Ho-oh, catching it by complete surprise and cutting off its assault. Though clearly affected by the Thunderbolt, Ghetsis’s control over Ho-oh suppressed any expression of pain it would have shown. Instead, it just moved its wings and legs around to work the charge out of its body. Dragonite and Xatu, meanwhile, were blown back due to their proximity to it, but despite tumbling over themselves in the air they were not injured.

 

“What was that?” Matt gasped, looking around for the Thunderbolt’s source.

 

An angry cry followed by another Thunderbolt electrocuting Ho-oh drew the attention of Matt, Nekou and the Pokémon to Sky, who was rapidly approaching the battle. His disruption, fueled by his newly regained confidence, stunned Ho-oh. Matt and Nekou both let out relieved breaths, and Dragonite and Xatu relaxed slightly as the Drifblim flew alongside them.

 

Meanwhile, as the fight between his allies’ Pokémon and Ho-oh unfolded, Pierce had been watching from a distance. Sky’s intervention against Ho-oh stunned the legendary Pokémon long enough to give him the opening he had been waiting for.

 

When the lens he wore over his left eye locked a targeting sight onto Ho-oh, he said to himself, “Got you,” and fired one of the missiles in his glider at it.

 

“Dragonite!” Matt called out, back in the battle. Both he and Nekou were unaware of the approaching rocket. “You still know Heal Bell, right? Go help my Salamence, please!”

 

Dragonite nodded to Matt, then flew off toward where Sally was struggling with her paralysis to stay airborne. He had no time to watch his Pokémon get healed, as within seconds of his plea, the missile struck Ho-oh, causing a violent explosion. The Fire-and-Flying-type legendary Pokémon groaned in pain as it spiraled toward the ground right before Matt’s shocked gaze.

 

“Who just…” Pierce flew up next to Hethna shortly after, prompting Matt to drop his question and begin to rant angrily. “You shot Ho-oh with a fucking missile? What the hell is wrong with you?”

 

“It’s called recognizing reality and saving your lives!” Pierce shouted back. “I did what I had to. Now go after Ghetsis before the time I just bought you runs out!”

 

“But-”

 

“Will you just stop fucking complaining and listen to him?” Nekou hissed. “If you think that thing killed Ho-oh, stop. It just slowed Ho-oh down. Or maybe you need to fucking look down and see for yourself?”

 

Matt did so, and when he saw Ho-oh already stirring and starting to recover far below, he had to fight the urge to cover his mouth in shock. He felt his heart sinking in his chest as he came to the realization that he had to accept what Pierce had done.

 

“F-fine…” Matt stuttered. “I don’t like it, but… we should get going. Hethna, take us to that airship and drop us off!”

 

The Golurk grunted in acquiescence to its trainer’s instructions, turned toward Colress’s airship, and fired its arm rockets at full force to fly there. Pierce took a moment to look down himself, seeing not only Ho-oh recovering but Dragonite healing Matt’s Salamence with silvery energy waves. The Rocket agent took a deep breath to focus his mind, then steered his glider away, flying off in the direction of Bell Tower.

 

On the airship’s roof, Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad watched Matt and Nekou as they approached on Hethna’s back. The three ninjas all rushed to brandish their Poké Balls, but Ghetsis hit his cane against the floor to stop them.

 

“No, let them come,” he ordered the trio. “Let them think that they have some chance of defeating us. When they fail, they will know the true meaning of absolute despair!”

 

In response to this, Darkness and Pestilence immediately put their Poké Balls away. Chaos hesitated, but quickly did so as well and said, “Yes, of course. You’re right, Lord Ghetsis.”

 

The Shadow Triad braced themselves as Hethna flew over their heads, while Ghetsis just looked up and smiled.

 

When they were directly over the airship, Matt and Nekou jumped down from Hethna’s back. Nekou’s well-honed acrobatic skills helped her to nimbly land on her feet with a minimal amount of balancing with her right arm. Matt, on the other hand, stumbled and fell forward since he had to focus much of his weight on his mechanical left leg. He quickly stood back up, only to catch Ghetsis stifling a laugh at his clumsiness.

 

“So, Matt Chiaki, we meet at last,” Team Plasma’s leader smugly said, taking great pleasure in the scowl Matt was directing at him. He then turned his attention to Nekou and smiled even more broadly  as he watched her glare at him with hate flaring in her brown eyes. “And we meet again, Nekou Lalume… or whatever name it is you’re going by these days.”

 

“Lalume?” Matt uttered in surprise. “Your name is Langley, isn’t it? What’s he talking about?”

 

“Ignore him, he’s trying to get inside your head,” Nekou growled at Matt.

 

“Aw, what’s the matter?” Ghetsis taunted, the caped man leaning forward on his cane as he continued on in a mocking, sarcastic voice. “Too insecure about the gutter trash you are to tell your little boyfriend the truth? How do you think he’s going to react when he finds out? You know what you’ll be! All alone just like always…”

 

“Fuck you!” she roared back at him, raising her middle finger at him as she spoke.

 

Ghetsis simply laughed and turned his attention back to Matt, who was looking back and forth, wide-eyed, between him and Nekou. “You poor, naive fool. You have no idea the kind of madness this woman is dragging you into. I don’t understand why Finansielle is so fascinated with you.”

 

“Finansielle?”

 

“The name of a woman who, like you two, is nothing but a relic to soon be left behind in the past.” Ghetsis took a step forward, slamming his cane into the floor. “Enough talk. I’ve been waiting long enough to do this.”

 

Matt braced himself in preparation for a fight, but Nekou stepped in front of him and blocked him with her hand.

 

“This isn’t your fight,” she said, her voice filled with the rage that burned deep within her. She took out her switchblade, slowly opened it, and added, “I’m gonna fuck this asshole up! Maybe I won’t kill him… but I’m seriously fucking considering it this time! This is where it ends!”

 

Nekou lunged at Ghetsis, screaming at the top of her lungs with her arm pulled back and ready to strike with the knife. Despite this, Ghetsis remained perfectly still, gripping his cane with confidence. Nekou saw him not making any effort to evade her attack, and deep down, she knew exactly why he wasn’t. Still, she didn’t care. The fact that Ghetsis was right there in front of her fed her bloodlust, and her fury was even further heightened by the fact that she could feel her other personality beginning to bleed into her mind.

 

She was abruptly stopped when the Shadow Triad appeared in her path. Chaos used his daggers to halt her strike, and behind him, Darkness armed himself with throwing stars while Pestilence drew both of Doublade’s swords. All three ninjas straightened up to their full heights, their long white hair blowing in the wind.

 

“You aren’t going anywhere near Lord Ghetsis,” Chaos declared. “I still have a score to settle with you.”

 

“Except this time you’re facing all three of us,” Darkness added. “You aren’t walking away alive from this.”

 

“Stand the fuck aside,” Nekou demanded, ignoring their warnings.

 

“Brother, I don’t think she heard you. Maybe we should help her get the point.” To accentuate his pun, Pestilence used one of his swords to mime a stabbing motion.

 

“Now isn’t the time for your jokes,” Darkness countered.

 

Before he could speak further, however, the sound of Ghetsis banging his cane on the floor caused all three of them to turn around.

 

“Enough of that,” Ghetsis advised his servants. “You three take your fight with her to the other end of the ship. I want to see for myself what Finansielle sees in the robot.”

 

The Shadow Triad immediately bowed to Ghetsis and warped to the back end of the airship. This move left absolutely nothing in the way between Nekou and Ghetsis, and it was an opportunity she would not let slip by.

 

“So your brilliant plan was to leave yourself open? You fucked up!”

 

Nekou began to rush Ghetsis again, but before she even realized what was happening, she felt a pair of hands grab her, pull her back and then throw her. When she finally came to her senses, she realized she was at the back of the ship as well, surrounded by Pestilence and Chaos. Darkness, the one who threw her, was approaching as well.

 

“No, _you’re_ the one who fucked up,” the leader of the Shadow Triad said to her as he arrived. “You know very well that all three of us would lay our lives down for Lord Ghetsis. To think we would let you lay one filthy finger on him tells me you’re an idiot.”

 

“I’m going to fucking carve you up,” Nekou threatened in an inhuman snarl.

 

“Please, we know all about you.” Darkness flipped one of his throwing stars around in his hand as he spoke. “You won’t kill anyone, and it’s that weakness that’s going to be your undoing.”

 

Darkness was interrupted when Nekou suddenly sprang up and threw herself at him, screaming as she did so. She swung her knife at him, but was intercepted by Pestilence and Doublade.

 

“I wasn’t done speaking,” Darkness sarcastically said as he put his throwing stars away and began to draw a long, thin sword of his own. “The reason why your unwillingness to kill your enemies will end you is because your enemies will not hesitate to kill you. The three of us for example… until we die we will be extensions of Lord Ghetsis’s very form! That dedication means you will not stop us without killing us!”

 

“Fuck you!!” Nekou screeched back, jumping at them once again.

 

Darkness parried her strike using his sword, then Chaos tried to slash at her, only for her to deflect his attack with her own blade. While she pulled a second knife from her coat, Pestilence got behind her and tried to stab her with Doublade, but she caught sight of him and pushed her leg backward, kicking him in the stomach.

 

Matt could do nothing but watch while Nekou viciously battled the Shadow Triad, kicking and slashing at them as she needed. Every time she barely managed to avoid or halt one of their attempted attacks on her, his breathing became shallower and  shallower. He knew that eventually, she would not be able to hold all three of them off like this, and that the Shadow Triad would surely swarm her in that inevitable moment of weakness.

 

Nearby, Hethna, Sally, Xatu, Sky and Dragonite all continued their fight with Ho-oh. Nando’s Dragonite turned to grunt a suggestion to Bunny’s Pokémon, and then breathed in and exhaled a Water Pulse. Xatu immediately fixated onto the rings of water and with raised wings and glowing eyes, he held them in place with Psychic, allowing Sky to electrify them with a crackling Thunderbolt. Once the combination was complete, Xatu swung his wings in Ho-oh’s direction to send it at the legendary Pokémon. Ho-oh responded with its own Thunder, and the two highly charged attacks filled the sky with a bright flash when they collided.

 

While Matt shielded his eye from the blinding light, Ghetsis took a step forward, once again punctuating it with a loud tap of his cane.

 

“You’re all alone now,” Ghetsis smugly said. “Are you finally beginning to understand just how hopeless your situation truly is? It’s funny how Finansielle is so interested in you, considering how powerless you are. I can’t say I understand it, but maybe it’s just the result of her simple mind focusing on a simple subject. I know better. Team Rocket dragged you along and dropped you in against me, never caring about what would become of you. Does that hurt?”

 

“I might not completely understand what you’re talking about, but _nobody_ dragged me along to anything,” Matt countered, fully facing Ghetsis. “I think I would have ended up here all the same. Do you know what kind of anguish you’ve caused my friend’s daughter with your speeches? She’s suffered enough in her life, but you’ve just made it worse, and I can’t forgive that.”

 

Ghetsis looked upward and laughed so hard that a tear formed at the corner of his visible eye. “It’s just a testament to how hopeless you are that you think you’re hurting me by saying that! She deserves everything I’ve done!” Matt gritted his teeth, enraged at what Ghetsis was saying. “She is not anyone special. All of those idiots I’ve taken to task in my speeches are just trash beneath my feet. The only reason why you think your friend’s daughter is special is because you are so warped and defective that you can’t stop trying to be a hero. You think that if you lay down your life for her you’ll make up for not saving her father five years ago. Deep down inside, though, you know you’re nothing but a joke!”

 

“That…” Matt lowered his head, allowing some of his hair to fall over his eyes. The shame of what he was about to say almost made him want to jump off the side of the ship right then. “You’re right about that. I… I don’t care what happens to me. All that matters is that Olivia can be safe and happy. Not just her, everyone I care about. Amanda and Bunny and Nekou and-”

 

“That is why you stand no chance against against me,” Ghetsis interrupted almost instantly upon Matt saying Nekou’s name, dismissing him with an arrogant sweep of his right hand. “You keep telling yourself you’re looking for the truth, yet the most simple and obvious truths lie right in front of your eyes and you fail to see them. Unlike you, I know what it is I truly want.” Suddenly, Ghetsis pulled his right arm back out from under his cape, revealing three spheres in his hand. Two of them were ordinary Poké Balls, while the third was a yellow-and-black Ultra Ball. He threw them all at once, shouting, “Now fall before me! Show me what you look like when you’ve lost all hope!”

 

Ghetsis’s Aegislash appeared once again from one of the Poké Balls. She was joined by a beetle Pokémon encased in steel armor and armed with a striped spear at the end of each arm, along with a helmet that bore a red crest. Meanwhile, the chandelier Pokémon that had carried Darkness’s Greninja earlier emerged from the Ultra Ball and took his place alongside Ghetsis’s other Pokémon.

 

“I know you left your Heatran behind on the ground, and your Salamence and Golurk are currently getting burned to ash by my Ho-oh, so you only have three Pokémon left on you right now. I want to learn what it is that makes Finansielle interested in you if I can. So now, show me just how long your resistance can last!”

 

The three Pokémon Ghetsis deployed all advanced toward Matt, using harsh cries and threatening physical postures to menace him. He couldn’t do much more than shrink back from them, even though he knew he should fight back. Everything about the situation was becoming too overwhelming for him. The sounds of Nekou’s brawl with the Shadow Triad behind him, the continued explosions from the other Pokémon fighting with Ho-oh, and his worry over Olivia and the others dealing with the riots all combined with his fear of the advancing Pokémon. His skin became paler than ever and he could feel his arms and left leg shaking from the overwhelming stress to his nerves.

 

“So this is all I get for my trouble?” Ghetsis bellowed, deliberately making his words as grandiose as he could. “It’s not true despair if you don’t try to fight back! I guess I was right in the end, Finansielle’s interest in you is just the fascination one defective piece of trash has in another. And what do you do with trash? You throw it away.” Raising his cane to point directly at Matt, Ghetsis commanded, “Chandelure, Shadow Ball!”

 

The chandelier Pokémon floated in front of his companions, and the light from the blue flame inside his body intensified as he formed a sphere of dark energy. When the light reached its peak, the orb launched off Chandelure’s face, forcing Matt to dive sideways in order to escape it. Both he and the Shadow Ball crashed to the floor.

 

Ghetsis wasn’t discouraged at all that his first attack failed, in fact, he was so excited he was absentmindedly shaking his cane. “So you do have some survival instinct after all! Most excellent! That’ll just make this much more fun. Aegislash, Escavalier, you’re up! Escavalier, use Bug Bite!”

 

Escavalier, the armored, spear-wielding beetle, traded places with Chandelure at the head of the team. She wasted no time in lunging at Matt with her mouth open, revealing sharp, glowing teeth. When he raised his right arm to shield himself, she bit down on the metal and refused to let go until Matt swung his arm several times to shake her off. Even then, as she returned to her teammates, Aegislash had already changed over into the offensive form in preparation for her own attack.

 

“If this is all you’re going to do,” Ghetsis said with disgust, “just die already. Aegislash, use Head Smash.”

 

Aegislash turned her body sideways, pointing the spike on her head directly at Matt as he got back on his feet. Bright blue light enveloped the spike, and when she threw herself at Matt like a spear, that light surrounded her entire body to give her the appearance of a comet shooting through the air. Behind his Pokémon, Ghetsis smiled, believing that his enemy would soon be gone.

 

Those hopes soon evaporated in a flash of light.

 

Standing in front of Matt was his Aggron, who had met Aegislash’s Head Smash with his own Dragon Claw. The green, glowing shears surrounding his right arm stopped Aegislash cold with a strike directly to the spike she had been using as a weapon mere moments earlier.

 

Ghetsis grit his teeth and growled angrily at the new obstacle in front of him, slamming his cane against the floor with a loud crash. “You just won’t die, will you?! Accept your fate!”

 

“I thought you were asking for me to fight back so I’d despair?” Matt countered, taking the opportunity to be smug himself for a change. He wanted to shoot a grin back at Ghetsis to turn the tables even further, but was unable to muster the nerve to do so.

 

“How dare you!” Ghetsis snarled, slamming his cane into the ground over and over again. In spite of his hatred, he soon stopped and began breathing heavily. Once he had regained his composure, his mouth twisted into a wide, wicked grin, his uncovered eye widened, and he said, “I really should applaud your foolish defiance, actually. That’ll make your ultimate despair even more absolute… So, come and face me! I can’t wait to see you fall into complete despair!”

 

By the time Ghetsis had finished issuing his threat, Matt had already reached into his bag and collected two more of his own Poké Balls. One was an ordinary Poké Ball, while the other, an Ultra Ball. He weakly opened them, releasing his Rhyperior from the former and a tall, white polar bear with a beard of icicles from the latter.

 

Even as he had all three of his remaining Pokémon lined up in front of him, though, Matt slouched. “What am I getting myself into…”

 

“I hope you know you just said that out loud,” Ghetsis taunted, making Matt cringe when he realized he’d voiced his thoughts. “And you brought an Aggron, a Rhyperior and a Beartic? Get ready to lose the last of that foolish hope you cling to!”

 

 _“I really hope he doesn’t get to see my despair…”_ Matt thought. For all the dangerous situations he’d been in before, even the confrontation with Yung and subsequent runaway train crisis in which he fully expected to die, there was something different about this. Ghetsis was, for reasons he couldn’t fully articulate even to himself, unlike any enemy he’d stood in front of in the past. He’d been hearing about Ghetsis’s reputation for a long time, and now, seeing the man in the flesh, he realized it was fully earned. Swallowing nervously, Matt raised his arm toward Ghetsis’s Pokémon and said, “Tony, use Power-Up Punch!”

 

-:-

 

In the skies over Ecruteak City, Ho-oh was having little trouble fighting against its five enemies who, despite their numbers, were unable to make much headway. Dragonite, Sky and Xatu directly challenged the legendary Pokémon head-on, creating another of their Water Pulse, Thunderbolt and Psychic fusion move. Ho-oh fearlessly dispelled it with one of its massive blue fireballs, turning it into a huge cloud of steam.

 

However, focusing on Dragonite and Bunny’s two Pokémon caused Ho-oh to lose track of Hethna and Sally. The Golurk rocketed up behind Ho-oh, deployed its large hands and tackled the Fire-and-Flying type in an attempt to restrain its wings. Hethna’s efforts slowed Ho-oh’s movements enough for Sally to fly in and aim a Hydro Pump at its body, but even though the watery attack struck its target, Ho-oh barely responded, instead continuing to thrash until Hethna let go.

 

Pierce was flying past on his glider when Ho-oh retaliated by striking Hethna and Sally with a rainbow-colored Signal Beam. The resulting blast tore up the skies with turbulence that he struggled to remain steady in, but he managed to make it through by focusing on his goal before him. He was so close to Bell Tower that he could see Anthea and Concordia, still strung up on the tower’s roof, being battered by the winds.

 

 _“Mother, I’m coming!”_ he thought, gritting his teeth in determination. _“Just a little longer…”_

 

As he finally drew close enough to attempt to land, Pierce thanked his luck that there had been no further interruptions. Seeing his mother so close for the first time in what felt to him like forever brought back what memories he still had of his childhood. He had been so young at the time, and so much time had passed, that much of what went on then had become fractured, so he held steadfastly on to what remained. That had been his entire purpose in the intervening years, reuniting the family that Ghetsis had violently separated decades earlier. His goal was getting closer by the second, and Pierce’s mind wandered back to thoughts of everything he lost so long ago. He began to realize that in just a few more moments,  his mission would finally be over and maybe, just maybe, this nightmare would end too.

 

When he finally landed on the tower, he was in such a rush to detach himself from the glider that he tripped and fell. He quickly pushed himself back up, however, and began running toward the circle where Anthea and Concordia were restrained.

 

“Mother! Mother!!” His repeated shouts wore on his throat, turning his voice raw. In his haste to reach them, he kept stumbling, but that would not stop him. Step by step, inch by inch, his goal got closer to his grasp.

 

Finally, his cries got through to the ears of the two imprisoned women. They both slowly turned their heads to him, and upon realizing that he was there to rescue them, life started to return to their dead eyes.

 

“P…” Anthea tried to speak once Pierce staggered into the glowing circle, but her voice caught in her throat. Even so, her long atrophied maternal instincts spurred her to continue trying. “Pier…”

 

“Mother, please, don’t force yourself.” Pierce quickly set to work undoing the ties binding Anthea, but the magnitude of his situation made it a struggle. His mind wasn’t focused on the task in front of him. Instead, more memories of his past pushed their way forward. From what remained deep inside, he knew that his childhood had been happy, however brief it was. He and his sister were not well off, but he never doubted that Anthea loved them both, and they were surrounded by a small but tightly-knit circle that cared for them as family. But, another memory stuck out - it had been not long after his sister’s birth that their father left, and not long after that was when Ghetsis violently invaded and destroyed their lives. Pierce’s hands started to tremble as emotion overwhelmed him, and he had to stop and shut his eyes.

 

Finally finding her voice, Anthea asked in a tone just barely above a whisper, “Pierce… how have you come here?”

 

Hearing his mother speak a full sentence to him for the first time in well over two decades caused Pierce to snap his eyes back open. Even with how long it had been, and how weak she sounded, her voice was exactly how he remembered it.

 

“Mother, I…” He paused briefly to gather his thoughts before continuing, “Uncle Trevor saved us from Ghetsis. He protected us until he got us to a place that would give us safety. I came back with allies to save you and Aunt Concordia! We have power on our side now, we can fight back!”

 

Before she could say more, Pierce finished undoing Anthea’s bonds, causing her to tumble forward into her son’s arms. She tried to separate herself from him, but a combination of her physical exhaustion and emotional state rendered her too weak to do so. Pierce, fighting back a tear, held on to her for a short time before helping her stand on her own.

 

“Where is your sister, Pierce? Is she here?”

 

“No, thankfully. I’ve taken care to ensure she’s safe. She’s in the personal protection of one of the most powerful…” Pierce trailed off as he realized what he was saying, which caused his heart to sink once again. “She’s safe,” he hastily said, before turning and running over to untie Concordia.

 

With his mind refocused on his task, Pierce quickly freed the green-haired woman. Unlike her companion, Concordia was  able to stand on her own, and immediately pulled Pierce into an embrace.

 

“Thank you for coming,” she said, fighting back tears.

 

“There’s no way I could not come,” Pierce replied, holding Concordia firmly by the shoulders and looking squarely into her eyes. He found himself choking back a tear himself, brought on by the rush of emotions brought on by the end of his long quest. “I’ve been working toward this for so long…”

 

“Pierce…” Anthea chimed in from the edge of the circle. When he looked at her, she pointed at his glider, which was still resting a short distance away. “You came on that? How are we supposed to all get out of here on it?”

 

With that one simple question, Pierce’s face turned completely white. That was the downside of his fixation on saving Anthea and Concordia - he was so focused on reaching them that he hadn’t fully thought out how to escape with them. Almost by instinct, his hand found its way up to the communicator in his ear.

 

“Jessie, James, this is Pierce,” he said into the device, his voice quiet but intense. “I need extraction for three from the roof of Bell Tower.”

 

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen any time soon!” Jessie yelled from the other side of the communicator, so loudly that Pierce cringed. “Kind of stuck here!”

 

“Status report!” Pierce demanded. Despite asking, though, he had a hunch of what the answer would be and tightened his hand on the earpiece.

 

“We had to save the girl and her friends from Ghetsis’s goons,” James explained, “and now we’re stuck fighting them.”

 

Pierce’s arm fell limp, and he could only stare out over Ecruteak City. In the distance, Sky’s Thunderbolt collided with Ho-oh’s Thunder, creating an electrical blast that lit up the sky. Anthea and Concordia both fell to their knees while holding each other, shutting their eyes to shield them from the light. Pierce stepped in front of them in an attempt to make himself think he could do something to protect them, but he knew it all didn’t matter.

 

-:-

 

After escaping from Dino and Lucky, Olivia, Bunny, Nando, Monroe, Avril and Rowena continued their race to the Pokémon Center, with Tanya still lumbering after them. Few words passed between the six, but conversation was unnecessary. They all knew exactly what their goal was: get to the Pokémon Center and retrieve the last group of refugees before the riots got there.

 

However, no amount of discussion of what was to come could ever have prepared them for what they found when the Pokémon Center finally came into view.

 

A fairly large and quite unruly crowd had already surrounded the Pokémon Center, spreading out in front of it. Olivia and the others managed to dodge behind other nearby buildings to escape their vision, but the crowd wasn’t the biggest problem in front of them. The fire was already rising from the structure, burning a crimson shade that contrasted sharply with the Pokémon Center’s dark maroon roof.

 

“We are too late…” Nando gasped. His eyes sank into his head and his mouth hung slightly open, his face filled with a look of horror completely foreign to his usual character.

 

The others all wore similar expressions as they looked on at the flames devouring the building before their eyes. Rowena was the only one doing something other than staring, keeping her camera rolling to capture the scene.

 

“Don’t you think there’s a better time for that?” Avril snapped when she realized what the woman next to her was doing.

 

“People have to see this,” Rowena retorted, not moving her eyes even slightly away from the flames. “This is my job, to expose the truth to the public no matter what risk there is.”

 

“But don’t you think we should be doing something about it?”

 

“Sis, stop!” Monroe intervened. “Leave her alone. Fighting with each other isn’t going to help us now! Besides, what can we even do?”

 

“How many people were still in there?” Bunny quietly asked, clutching the strap of her bag so tightly her knuckles turned white.

 

“I… I don’t know…” Olivia responded before gasping and quickly turning around to Bunny, the result of a terrible realization reaching her mind. “Did Dante get out?”

 

“I’m not sure if I saw him at the Battle Hall or not, but as much as I hate to say it, I don’t think we can help him right now…”

 

“So what do we even do now?” Avril wondered aloud, her arms tightly wound around her body.

 

-:-

 

A tense, unsettled mood hung in the air of the Battle Hall. The stadium area was more than spacious enough to accommodate the evacuees, but the collective fear of what was happening beyond its walls made many of them feel more tightly packed in than they actually were. This group included Audrey and Bill, sitting in seats on both sides of Nikolai as he nervously rocked back and forth in his own.

 

“Ho-oh is in such agony…” he mumbled to himself, his gaze completely fixed on the floor, “and those Pokémon they’re using to fight it don’t understand. Their trainers made their minds close to Ho-oh’s pain…”

 

“That’s not true,” Bill said. Nikolai jumped, as he hadn’t thought he was speaking loud enough for the others to hear. “That isn’t Ho-oh that they’re fighting right now, it’s Ghetsis’s mind control. Deep down, can’t you feel that?”

 

“Of course I do!” Nikolai argued, clenching his fists. “That’s why they shouldn’t be fighting it. Ho-oh is the biggest victim here!”

 

“You aren’t wrong,” Audrey timidly offered, “but… what other choice is there? Ghetsis wants Ho-oh to burn the entire city down, and Ho-oh can’t fight back against him. Depending on how you look at it… the other Pokémon aren’t fighting Ho-oh, they’re fighting Ghetsis to save Ho-oh by doing what it can’t do itself.”

 

“Yeah, but…” Realizing that he did at least understand Audrey’s logic, Nikolai stopped talking and looked back at the floor. _“I should be out there. I can stop this… I can save Ho-oh myself!”_

 

“Bro, what’s going on over there?” Audrey asked Bill, pointing down at the stage.

 

Bill looked over at the stage and saw some people milling about. There, at the center of the forming group, was Kate. The Frontier Brain was speaking to the people most immediately surrounding her - Bill could make out Mako and Silver, as well as who he thought to be Falkner and Trista, though the latter pair were partially obscured from his point of view. Their conversation was brief, and the five quickly left the arena.

 

“Where are they going?” Bill wondered aloud, his eyes following his elder sibling and the others.

 

-:-

 

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Trista askeded Kate as the group moved up the stairways leading to the Battle Hall’s exit. “With everything going on out there…”

 

“Everything going on out there is exactly why I need the best people I can find to do this with me,” Kate replied, her usually cheerful and showy demeanor having evaporated into cold, goal-driven seriousness. “All hell is breaking loose on the streets of a city I’m partially responsible for. It’s up to me to contain the damage to the best of my ability, but I can’t do it alone.”

 

“What about Morty?”

 

Kate briefly nodded to Falkner in response to his question, but did not stop or turn around. “I couldn’t get ahold of him, but I sent him a message. If he’s alright, he’ll join us on the way.”

 

Just as the five passed through the Battle Hall’s front door, another explosion from Ho-oh’s continuing rampage lit up the sky. The glow was so bright that all of them, even Kate, who was wearing her sunglasses, had to stop and cover their eyes. Once the flash died down, the group all looked up at the brutal fight, and watched with dismay as their allies’ Pokémon struggled against the great, radiant bird.

 

“Looks like that hell you mentioned isn’t just on the streets, it’s in the sky too,” Silver remarked with a bitter scowl.

 

“You can say that again,” Mako agreed.

 

“They need some help up there, otherwise there’s no way they’re holding up against Ho-oh for much longer.” In one quick, fluid motion, Kate pulled one of her Poké Balls from her right pocket and threw it. A Charizard erupted from the sphere, and much like her Venusaur, he wore a leather strap with a glowing stone set in it. Unlike Venusaur, however, Charizard’s strap was a headband, and his stone was colored red, yellow and green.

 

“I guess this is happening,” Trista said, resigning herself to joining the battle as she threw her own Poké Ball. “Cupid, help them!”

 

“Alright, Pidgeot, you take action as well!”

 

Trista’s Poké Ball produced a Togekiss that twirled through the air before deftly floating next to Charizard. Falkner’s, meanwhile, released his Pidgeot, who shook out her plumage as she flew to the others. Once they were all together, Kate reached into her left pocket and removed her Key Stone, which she had detached from her headset earlier. Holding it up in Charizard’s direction, she invoked the words necessary to utilize its power.

 

“Charizard, let’s even the score out! Go beyond evolution and show them what a Frontier Brain’s Pokémon is capable of! Mega Evolve!”

 

As the light that flowed out of the Key Stone started to envelop Charizard, he turned back to her and gave her a confident smile. He then stretched out his arms and wings as the light fully overtook him and the Fire-Type began to transform. Both his head and body elongated, while four spikes formed on his tail and small wings sprouted from his arms. His main pair of wings, meanwhile, grew even larger and became more ragged in appearance. Once he shed the light and its accompanying Mega Evolution sigil, he roared loudly to show off his new appearance, and bright sunlight almost immediately began to shine in the sky.

 

“Impressive,” Mako complimented Kate and Charizard. “I assume Mega Charizard’s Ability is Drought?”

 

“This Mega Charizard’s is. I’ve heard there’s another one out there that actually becomes a Dragon-type, but you need a totally different Mega Stone for it. Anyway… hey, Charizard, how are you feeling?” Another great, enthusiastic roar greeted this inquiry, so Kate smiled and put her Key Stone away. “Alright, go with Togekiss and Pidgeot and show them what you’ve got!”

 

Charizard lifted himself off the ground with his mighty wings, his movements whipping up gusts of wind so strong that even his fellow Flying-types Togekiss and Pidgeot had to brace themselves in the air. Once they recovered, they quickly followed him into the sky and toward Ho-oh.

 

“Now what?” Trista wondered as she and the others watched their Pokémon fly away.

 

“We take care of what’s going on on the ground.” Kate reached into her jacket, took out her phone, and quickly placed a call by tapping several icons on its screen. She raised it to her ear, and spoke into it, “Bunny? It’s Kate. What’s going on down there?”

 

Kate waited for Bunny’s answer, but when she got it, her eyes widened. The others were not oblivious to this, and Silver decided to speak up.

 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice becoming shaky.

 

Kate briefly moved her head away from the phone to answer, “She told me the rioters already torched the Pokémon Center.”

 

In an instant, Silver’s eyes stretched to match Kate’s, and he took a step backward. Trista covered her mouth with both of her hands, while Mako and Falkner shared a look of desperation at each other, both hoping for an answer they knew deep down wouldn’t come.

 

“Bunny? Bunny, calm down!” Kate said briskly and forcefully, putting her free hand against the side of her head. “Just stay safe out there and make your way back towards the Battle Hall. We haven’t been hit yet, so we might be able to minimize the damage if we all join forces! It may not be too late!” After putting her phone away, Kate looked to her teammates. She could see in their worried gazes that they were looking to her for leadership - exactly what she intended to provide. “Let’s go. We shouldn’t be fearful, we can pull this off. The city needs us right now.”

 

-:-

 

Sky shrieked out of distress as Ho-oh’s Thunder barreled down on him in the hot and bright sky around their raging battle. He was already becoming exhausted from the strain such a powerful opponent was putting on him, and he lacked the strength or willpower to keep going.

 

Xatu, however, was unwilling to allow his teammate to be cut down. The Psychic-and-Flying-type flew straight toward Sky and tackled him before activating his Teleport. Both Pokémon disappeared from their position just before Ho-oh’s attack tore through and rematerialized together several feet away. Dragonite and Hethna swept past them, flying side-by-side.

 

Dragonite drew in a deep breath to form another Water Pulse while both of Hethna’s fists popped out of its arms, allowing the Golurk to launch a pair of fist-shaped shadows at their shared target. The twin Shadow Punch pummeled Ho-oh’s body, forcing a wheeze from the legendary Pokémon. As Ho-Oh regained its balance, Dragonite’s Water Pulse slammed into it, but the move was weakened by the strong sunlight brought on by Charizard’s Drought, and did little more than annoy the Fire-and-Flying-type.

 

A blade of air cut through the sky from behind Ho-oh, clipping its wing. Despite cutting a gash into its wing, the Air Slash only served to annoy the legendary Pokémon further. It looked over its shoulder with rage burning in its eyes just in time to see its attacker, Trista’s Togekiss Cupid, approaching alongside Pidgeot and Charizard.

 

Kate’s Mega Evolved Pokémon wasted no time in mounting his own offense, drawing sunlight into his body in preparation for a Solar Beam attack. Ho-oh immediately started charging another Thunder to counter this, but the strong sunlight allowed Charizard to launch the Solar Beam so quickly that it struck and neutralized the electricity before it ever left Ho-oh’s beak, sending sparks showering over the city.

 

Infuriated by the new opposition, Ho-oh tightly curled its body up. When it violently stretched back out moments later, it let out an earsplitting shriek, and a giant Weather Ball erupted from its plumage, which, feeding off the effects of Charizard’s Drought, took the shape of a fireball roughly double the size of the previous one.

 

It fell through the air like a falling star, threatening to engulf Sky, Hethna and Xatu. Sally flew in front of them and launched a desperate effort to stop the catastrophically powerful assault with Hydro Pump, but the same sunlight that gave Ho-oh and Charizard strength weakened Sally’s Water-type attack, much like it had crippled Dragonite’s Water Pulse earlier.

 

With Matt’s Salamence unable to stop the flaming orb by herself, Falkner’s Pidgeot flew over the Hydro Pump, her underside avoiding the water by just inches. She then went to Sally’s side, spread her wings and cried out, causing a portal to open in front of her. Her Mirror Move produced a second Hydro Pump, mimicking Sally’s move.

 

Still, even two blasts of water were only enough to stall the Weather Ball. Seeing this, Cupid moved in and discharged a weak pulse of electricity into where the two Water-type attacks came together, and the combination of the two Hydro Pumps with the Thunder Wave’s charge finally caused the Weather Ball to explode in a spectacular burst of flames.

 

Focusing completely on Pidgeot, Ho-oh started to charge another Thunder, only to be ambushed by Hethna and Charizard, who flew straight into it together. A pained screech escaped the great phoenix’s beak seconds before its attackers forced it into the side of a tall building in the city’s urban area, causing bricks, iron and other wreckage to rain down on the streets below.

 

-:-

 

In response to Kate’s request for their presence, Bunny led the others as they hurried north, back up toward the Battle Hall. Olivia, exhausted from the constant running, had taken to riding on Tanya’s back, while Monroe and Avril kept pace alongside the Heatran. Nando and Rowena brought up the rear of the group, with the reporter maintaining her intention to film everything she saw.

 

As they drew near the Dance Hall, a shining light next to the building halted their rush.

 

“What is that?” Bunny said, her shocked, wide-eyed expression matching those of her teammates.

 

“It looks like…” Noticing something inside the light, Rowena focused her camera on it. “A ring?”

 

Though they could not see it perfectly clearly, the source of the light was indeed a large, golden ring. The ring, which was created by Hoopa’s power, framed a portal linked to the Tenganist Liberation Front’s position in the forest. Kristos and Lotus, concealed by the ring’s glow, stepped out of the portal and quickly moved behind the traditional Tenganist structure. They were well hidden by the time the ring and its light disappeared, leaving Olivia and her friends dumbfounded and wondering what they had witnessed.

 

“Well, here goes nothing,” the towering man said to his diminutive wife as they interlocked their hands and faced each other.

 

“I hope she’s okay right now. I really think we should have went with her…”

 

Kristos shook his head. “I trust her judgment. After all, she’s survived for this long without us.”

 

“I don’t think I can agree with that. She’s too important to risk.” Lotus briefly turned her head away, but quickly returned to looking into Kristos’s eyes. “I do agree we’ve got to protect our culture, though.”

 

“Then we should get to that right away,” Kristos replied, smiling.

 

The two tightened their grasp on each others’ hands and chanted in perfect sync, “Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

Out in front of the Dance Hall, Bunny had grown irritated with her companions’ hesitation. Standing in front of them with her hand tightly gripping her bag’s strap, she said, “We can’t stay here and keep wondering what that thing was when Kate’s waiting for us.”

 

“You’re right…” Olivia admitted. “I want to know what it was, but… yeah, we should go. Tanya, let’s-”

 

Olivia abruptly cut herself off, her eyes going wide and her mouth falling open. Bunny started to question this, but when she saw that the others - save for Rowena, who was still filming - all shared the same reaction, she instead turned around to see what was behind her.

 

The Dance Hall had faded away into nothingness. Literally nothing remained, just an empty patch of grass where it had been, as if it never existed at all.

 

“What?” she gasped. “That’s impossible, there’s no way!”

 

Determined to figure out what was going on, Bunny ran toward where the Dance Hall had been. Right as she reached the edge of the grass patch, though, she collided with something and fell backward, prompting Olivia to jump off Tanya’s back and hurry to her side.

 

“Are you alright?” the young girl asked her friend.

 

“I… I don’t…” Bunny didn’t answer Olivia’s question. Instead, she reached toward the grass, finding her hand resting against an invisible barrier. She touched it in several places, then quickly turned to Olivia, having realized something. “A Mr. Mime could do this. Did you see one?”

 

Olivia shook her head, so Bunny looked to the others, using her eyes to plead with them for some sort of sense. She was met with nothing but more shaking heads.

 

“What about the light, then?” Monroe hesitatingly ventured.

 

“No, I do not believe that is the cause,” answered Nando. “The light faded noticeably prior to the Dance Hall itself, and I presume the wall is also linked to its disappearance. We should try to find its source.”

 

“I don’t think there’s any time for that right now.”

 

“Bunny’s right,” Olivia concurred, starting back toward Tanya. “We can come back and figure this out la-”

 

For the second time in only a few minutes, Olivia was cut off mid-sentence. The interruption this time was a blur that shoved past Avril and Monroe, knocking them to the ground. It was not until the figure stopped and struck Tanya with an electric shock, causing her to stumble and stomp the ground with her heavy feet, that the group and particularly Olivia realized what it was.

 

“A Mareep?!” she exclaimed in shock. “Wait, that violent behavior…”

 

Olivia’s head filled with recollections of what Lyra had told her at the National Park. _“That Mareep has a really violent nature. It loves to fight so much that he couldn’t control it. I guess it finally got too much for him, huh?”_

 

Monroe put his hand on his chin. “Olivia, are you saying…?”

 

As she approached Mareep, who had begun growling at her instead of attacking Tanya, Olivia briefly nodded to Monroe, then addressed the Electric-type Pokémon. “You’re that Mareep I saw get released in the park, aren’t you? Have you been following me all this time?”

 

The Mareep continued growling, which Olivia took as an affirmative response to her question. She kept approaching the Pokémon with slow, measured steps, being careful to make it clear that she posed no threat. To that end she spread her arms and opened her hands, displaying that she had nothing in her grasp.

 

Mareep stopped growling for a brief moment to consider Olivia’s actions, then bleated menacingly at her, causing her to jump slightly back. She said out loud, “What did I do wrong?”

 

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Miss Olivia,” Nando gently said. “I do not believe that was a warning. I think Mareep is challenging you.”

 

“Yeah, I agree!” Monroe shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

 

“Is that true?” Olivia asked Mareep, earning an enthusiastic cry from her. Staring down at the Poké Ball in her hand, Olivia grimaced and thought, _“Mareep followed me for a reason, but… does it even really matter? I don’t know… I guess if I catch Mareep, at least that’s a Pokémon that I won’t be hurting by having it battle, so Mr. Mime can rest...”_

 

While Olivia was lost in her thoughts, Bunny walked up behind her and set her hand on Olivia’s shoulder, snapping the younger trainer back to reality. “It would probably help to have a Pokémon that wants to battle on our side right now, but you have to do this quickly.”

 

“I…” Olivia’s words caught in her throat. It was true that this was an opportunity to gain what seemed to be a powerful ally, but she questioned if the endeavor was really worth it. She remembered how Mareep’s previous trainer had released her, and the reason - that it couldn’t get enough fighting - and then that her Mr. Mime had needs she was unable to fill at the time. Olivia sighed, wondering if she’d be able to give Mareep what she deserved, even as she started to throw the Poké Ball. “Roselia, I guess we’re doing this!”

 

-:-

 

Another crowd of rioters had developed around Ecruteak’s Poké Mart and smashed through its windows. Some had gone inside to loot and were cycling in and out to pass portions of the stolen goods to the rest of the crowd.

 

Kate, Falkner, Mako, Trista and Silver all felt disgusted with themselves for appreciating the distraction the looting provided them as they got into position. None of them were more repulsed than the Frontier Brain; even if she was not an Ecruteak native and had only lived there since shortly before the Battle Hall’s opening, she felt responsible for the city’s protection. She and the others also knew that recklessly attacking the rioters in order to protect the Poké Mart would only undermine their containment plan, so they swallowed their misgivings as they positioned themselves in the streets just to the south.

 

Once they were in place and had looked around at each other to confirm as much, they each took out and threw a Poké Ball. Kate’s released a Blastoise, who wore a white, blue and green Mega Stone in a choker. He flexed his arms and growled while his twin water cannons emerged from his shell. Falkner and Trista sent out a Skarmory and a Gardevoir respectively, while Mako brought out her Tentacruel. All three quietly readied themselves for battle once they saw the riots in front of them, as Blastoise had. That covert preparation was meaningless however, when Silver revealed his Pokémon - a red Gyarados that let off a shine as soon as he emerged from the blue-and-black Lure Ball he resided in. The great serpent crashed to the ground and deafeningly roared, causing many rioters in the crowd to begin turning around. Falkner, Mako and Trista couldn’t help giving Silver dirty looks for his choice, while Kate just sighed and adjusted her sunglasses.

 

“Smooth move,” Trista muttered under her breath.

 

Seeing that the anger of the crowd was beginning to turn towards her team, Kate raised the megaphone she’d brought from the Battle Hall to her mouth and addressed them. “Everyone, please listen! I’m sure you’ve noticed that Ho-oh’s on a rampage right now. For your own safety, we must move you to a more secure location!”

 

Kate took a deep breath and bit her lip, hoping that she would be able to bring some sort of peace to the chaos. That wish would not be granted, as her attempt only served to make the crowd begin screaming even louder.

 

“Bullshit!” one of the rioters yelled back.

 

“Ho-oh protects the people! It’s on our side, you liar!”

 

“She’s the Hall Matron!” another added. “They’re trying to get rid of us! Look at all the Pokémon they brought!”

 

The cacophony of the crowd continued to escalate, leaving Kate and the others largely unable to continue hearing the individual things being shouted at them. Bits and pieces of insults and slurs reached their senses, but no complete sentences or thoughts. At first, the hostility remained verbal, and the group did not take any further actions. That changed seconds later when some of the crowd began to advance on them.

 

“Gyarados!” Silver called out, sweeping his arm forward. “Dark Pulse!”

 

Silver’s Gyarados loomed in front of his trainer just in time to intercept a rock that had been thrown from the crowd, which simply bounced off the Pokémon’s thick, red hide. He opened his vast mouth up wide, and a cluster of glowing, black-and-purple energy formed in front of it. The rioters who saw this abruptly stopped their advance, but those who didn’t were blown back when Gyarados blasted the ground in front of them with dark rings.

 

Seeing that the situation had deteriorated into full-on violence, Kate clenched her teeth and threw the megaphone aside. Trista and Mako just stared, dumbfounded at what they had witnessed, while Falkner whirled around to face Silver.

 

“Was that really our only choice?” the Violet Gym Leader angrily demanded.

 

“Ask yourself that question!” Silver sharply replied. “You know as well as I do that this is beyond reasoning already!”

 

Falkner shrunk back, defeated. He knew that what Silver said to him was completely true, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

 

“What’s the plan now?” Mako asked Kate, having made her way over to the Hall Matron during Falkner and Silver’s exchange.

 

“Push them toward the water,” Kate uttered without lifting her head, “like we discussed.”

 

“Alright.” In a fit of nerves, Mako started twisting her ring around on her finger. Facing Trista, who was looking at her and Kate to receive guidance, she gestured toward the recovering crowd and steeled herself for what they were about to do.

 

“I never thought when I became a Gym Leader that I’d have to do something like this…” Falkner said to himself. “But, I just… I don’t have a choice. Skarmory, try not to hurt anyone, but block them off from going south with Rock Tomb!”

 

“Madea, add your Will-O-Wisp to that Rock Tomb!” Trista directed her Gardevoir. “Strengthen that barrier so we can drive them back!”

 

“Your Toxic Spikes will help as well, Tentacruel!” Mako called out.

 

Watching her allies put themselves at risk to help end the riot caused a tear to well up in Kate’s eye. Her lack of roots in Ecruteak City didn’t prevent her from feeling an emotional connection to the area, that much was still true. But, the longer she thought about it, that very same bond that made her want to save the city also gave her doubts about what she was doing.

 

_“Is restraining citizens like this the right thing to do when they have some real complaints? Am I making this worse?”_

 

-:-

 

A horde of panicked people flooded out of a tower on the urban side of Ecruteak City. Pieces of glass and metal rained on the street from the building’s peak, where Sally and Dragonite had forced Ho-oh into a billboard promoting the Battle Hall. The top floors of the structure were soon consumed in a fiery explosion when Ho-oh fought back, forcing its opponents away in the process. The legendary Pokémon pulled itself from the installation and tried to aim its Thunder at Xatu and Sky. It missed them by an inch, however, and the errant lightning bolts struck the sides of several other buildings, blowing out their windows and sending more glass falling on the fleeing civilians below.

 

With Ho-oh distracted by the failure of its attack, Hethna emerged from between two buildings to ambush it. Both of the Golurk’s fists emerged from its arm rockets, allowing it to strike Ho-oh in the back with two shadowy projections of said appendages. Ho-oh flinched but recovered quickly and flew toward yet another tower, perching on its roof. It then spread its wings out wide and began inhaling, creating another huge fireball in its throat. The Weather Ball grew to a size big enough to flood an entire street with flames, a danger that was not lost on the Pokémon trying to slow Ho-oh down. As soon as Ho-oh launched the massive, flaming orb, Xatu focused his psychic powers on it, slowing it down slightly. Trista’s Togekiss, Cupid, swiftly glided in and supported her ally’s move using Thunder Wave, but this was still not enough to halt Ho-oh’s attack. Falkner’s Pidgeot soon joined them and used Mirror Move, creating a similar but smaller Weather Ball, which finally caused the fireball to explode.

 

Before Ho-oh could attempt another attack, Xatu, Cupid and Pidgeot all moved aside, allowing Kate’s Charizard to fly straight at the legendary Pokémon. His arms and claws started to glow, and he tackled Ho-oh squarely in its breast. Charizard was flying at such a pace that his Aerial Ace easily dislodged Ho-oh from the tower and forced it back out over the less-cramped eastern half of the city.

 

Meanwhile, as the struggle between Ho-oh and the Pokémon trying to halt its rampage unfolded, two other fights continued atop Colress’s airship. Sweat rolled down Nekou’s face at a feverish pace as she struggled to keep up with the continuous assault of the Shadow Triad. Any one of them would have been reasonable enough for her to handle, but she could feel herself losing ground little by little to all three of them, even though she was pushing her skills with her knives to the limit.

 

Matt was not faring any better in his battle with Ghetsis. The Plasma leader’s Pokémon simply outclassed his own, and both he and Ghetsis knew it. While Ghetsis’s typical mad smirk grew wider and wider, Matt could only stare slack-jawed at his Pokémon being thoroughly beaten down. Immediately after Ghetsis’s Chandelure cut down Matt’s Rhyperior with a Solar Beam, Aegislash viciously slammed into his Beartic with the spike on her head, causing the Ice-type to collapse onto his Rock-and-Ground-type partner.

 

“Put an end to this insolent boy once and for all, Escavalier!” Ghetsis roared, pointing his cane at Aggron. “Drill Run!”

 

The armored beetle responded to her master with a hissing cry, then brought her two spears together and rocketed toward Tony while spinning at a high speed.

 

“Tony, try to stop that with…” What direction Matt had been trying to give got stuck in his throat and died out. He just couldn’t force himself to keep trying to salvage the situation, even though deep down inside he wanted to. _“I can’t even stop getting my Pokémon hurt like this… what good am I?”_

 

Fortunately, Tony was ready and willing to act without any instructions. He tightened the muscles in his tail, causing it to take on a metallic sheen, then swung it at the oncoming Escavalier like a club. Not so luckily, however, Escavalier anticipated the Iron Tail and shifted her trajectory to a more upward angle, causing it to sail harmlessly beneath her shell. Tony only had enough time to draw a short gasp before the Bug-and-Steel-type Pokémon drilled into the upper part of his chest, causing critical damage that even started to crack his craggy skin. His body gave out and he started to fall backwards.

 

The moment Tony’s heavy, armored form hit the ground with a terrible crash, Nekou kicked Darkness and shoved Chaos, driving them both back away from her. She then turned and saw Ghetsis advancing toward Matt, his own Pokémon seemingly uninjured even while they had completely defeated all of Matt’s.

 

She barely had the opportunity to take one step toward Matt and Ghetsis before an impact in her back accompanied by a sickening squelch caused her to nearly crumple backward over herself. An agonized, sickly wheeze was forced from her throat along with a cough of blood, but she couldn’t push any words or even complete breaths out. Her entire body turned weak as she struggled for air, and the color had completely drained from her skin before she managed to tilt her head forward.

 

Both bodies of Pestilence’s Doublade were sticking nearly entirely through her torso from behind, their wielder having buried them nearly up to their hilts through her back. Seeing the blood-stained steel jutting out of her made Nekou even more acutely aware of the cold radiating through her from where the blades had pierced her body, a cold so absolute that she was sure it was what death itself felt like.

 

 _“I… don’t…”_ She was even unable to form a complete thought, let alone speak.

 

“You’ve had this coming for years,” Pestilence hissed in her ear. “Just die already, you monster.”

 

With that, Pestilence abruptly pulled his Doublade out of his victim, causing blood to splash over his armor and other weapons. Nekou’s pale, convulsing body collapsed face-first onto to the floor in front of her, a pool of the red liquid emerging from beneath her while also oozing out over the back of her coat.

 

“Nekou, no!” Matt screamed in horror, having turned around when he heard her gasping. A familiar feeling immediately overwhelmed all of his senses - the feeling of complete, absolute failure. Not a kind of failure like losing a battle, something worse. Something he’d felt a few times before and been actively working towards never having to feel again.

 

The feeling of failure to preserve the life of another person.

 

“Oh, don’t be so sad!” Ghetsis mocked him, causing him to spin back around. “While your trash girlfriend bleeds out over there, I’ll be taking you apart piece by piece. It won’t be long before you join her. But, that said, I have to thank you. This is what I wanted to see, what you would look like when you lost all hope!”

 

Having returned Tony, Beartic and Rhyperior to their Poké Balls, Matt stared at Ghetsis with a gaze that was equal parts despair and anger. His emotions overwhelmed his body’s cybernetic components, causing him to tremble so violently he could hear them buzzing.

 

“I… hate you…” Matt growled, tilting his head back. “I just met you today and I hate you so much… I told myself I’d never let another person die for my failures…”

 

“Don’t blame me for that,” Ghetsis replied, stifling a laugh. “That’s your problem.”

 

“You’re such a fucking fraud!” Matt leveled his head so he could look right at Ghetsis again, his one visible eye burning with fury. “None of this even has anything to do with liberating anyone from anything, does it?! What does Polaris really stand for?”

 

“You got me there,” admitted the Chromosome, “but I have to correct you on one thing. I serve none but myself. Polaris? Don’t make me laugh! Polaris are a bunch of small-minded fools chasing an idiotic ideology for some delusional ideal of freedom and hope. Me? I’m doing something much more tangible. What the Tenganists did to my ancestors will be paid back tenfold, and to accomplish that, I will seize control of all of Polaris. With Ho-oh, none of them will be able to stop me! I’m going to resurrect Team Plasma and make all of my dreams come true! You can bear witness to that!”

 

While Ghetsis boasted about his plans, Nekou was laying face-down on the ground, both her front and back covered in blood. None of the noises around her - the voices, the airship’s engines, the explosions from Ho-oh - sounded like anything but a loud, incoherent echo. She lacked the ability to comprehend any of it and could feel what little remained of her functions slipping away into the mental abyss.

 

Suddenly, a single voice tore through the auditory clutter, speaking to her as if it was directly in her brain, which it was.

 

_“Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into quite the rough spot, haven’t you?”_

 

The presence of her other self in her head brought Nekou enough mental focus to think, _“Fuck off… I don’t want to talk to you now…”_

 

_“You’re so cruel. Doesn’t this remind you of when we first spoke? When you were all alone in that place, being experimented on because they didn’t know what you… what we are?”_

 

_“I wasn’t fucking dying then ei-”_

 

 _“So you do realize our predicament here.”_ The voice sounded as if it took a smug satisfaction from forcing Nekou to admit that she was indeed dying. _“Yes, our predicament. You like to think you own that body, but you know deep down inside you’re just renting it from me. If it perishes, we both go. So in other words, it’s time for me to call in what you owe me. You know what you must do to survive. Think about all the pain you’re in right now. I’ll make that all go away. I’ll make you feel good again.”_

 

 _“Go fuck yourself. I’m never letting you do that again…”_ Nekou tried to shift her weight, but only managed a tiny movement in the pool of sticky, warm red fluid.

 

 _“You won’t let me, that’s right. Because soon, you’ll be gone from this world and then where will you be?”_ Sensing that Nekou’s resolve was faltering, the presence in her mind added, _“Yes, that’s right. There’s nothing after you die. You know that.”_

 

 _“Shut up…”_ Nekou mentally begged. _“Please, stop…”_

 

The voice refused to consider her pleas and continued without hesitation, _“What do you think it would feel like to be rotting away in the ground? Wait, that’s a stupid question, you wouldn’t actually be feeling that. Know why?”_

 

_“Shut up!!”_

 

Feeling that its goal was near, the voice lowered its tone, turning to a seductive sound. If it was a physical presence, it would have been whispering in Nekou’s ear and stroking her hair to coax her even further. _“Because your soul wouldn’t even get that much. You know where your soul ends up, you’ve seen it in your dreams. That endless, pitch-black void… so empty, so cold…”_

 

 _“No!!”_ All at once, Nekou’s pent-up emotions tore free from her attempts to restrain them. She couldn’t act physically on them; her body was far too weak to do so. Her mind, however, was flooded with an overwhelming sense of despair and fear she knew all too well. She’d felt it countless times before when visions of herself lost in that void woke her in the middle of the night. Though she tried to fight them by drinking herself to sleep, she could never get rid of the dreams and what accompanied them. Finally, with her own internal voice sobbing hopelessly, she admitted, _“You’re right… I don’t want to die…”_

 

 _“Good girl,”_ cooed the voice of the other entity in her mind. _“Now let’s get you fixed up.”_

 

Meanwhile, completely unaware of what was going on inside Nekou’s head and of what was about to happen, Ghetsis pointed his cane toward the Shadow Triad, beckoning them closer to him. Matt could do nothing but watch, feeling completely lost.

 

“I’m done waiting,” he said to his three fanatical followers. “Ho-oh is ours, Team Rocket is beaten, and soon this entire city will be burning in its own funeral pyre. I’ll be needing this airship for the next stage of my plan, so go dispose of that fool Colress. He won’t be needed anymore.”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three ninjas replied in perfect unison.

 

Upon turning around to carry out their mission, however, the Shadow Triad immediately froze. On the floor in front of them, Nekou was convulsing violently in the pool of her blood. Startled by this, they instinctively reached for their weapons.

 

“Just what the hell are you?” Darkness gasped, his hand nearing the throwing stars on his belt.

 

No answer came. Nekou wasn’t capable of giving one.

 

Slowly she rose from the viscous puddle, violently thrashing as the entity within her took hold. The wounds where Pestilence’s Doublade punctured her sealed up right in front of the others’ eyes, leaving not only the Shadow Triad but Matt and Ghetsis watching in slack-jawed shock. A series of sickening cracking sounds accompanied by sharp, jerking motions reverberated from her body, brought on by the shifting of the bones in her limbs and spine.

 

Nekou’s brain was being bombarded by so many different things at once that it couldn’t even function in any sort of coherent manner. Not only were her bones shifting, she could perceive both her skin and her internal organs burning as if they were on fire. Some part of her still felt the horrific agony caused by the deformations she was suffering. That sense, however, was being choked out by another, one that forced her to feel strange sensations of pleasure instead of the actual pain. It was like some kind of synthetic drug concocted in a lab, one far more potent than any type of exotic alcohol she’d ever consumed.

 

Still, with what remained of her consciousness, she tried to cry out for help. She started to extend her arm in Matt’s direction, but when she saw her fingers stretching out from her trembling hand, she froze and her words caught in her throat.

 

 _“You know he can’t help you now,”_ the voice of her other self seductively whispered into her mind. _“Only I can. And tell me, don’t you see just how much I’m doing for you?”_

 

As much as Nekou wanted to reject what her other self was saying, she could not force herself to not acknowledge the fact that the escalating sensations were pleasurable. On top of those feelings, which were feeling more and more like an embrace from a copy of herself, she could feel her senses increasing beyond anything that should be possible. Paradoxically, though, she couldn’t actually consciously process any of the information she took in with them. While she knew that she was smelling and hearing things from further away, was seeing things with far more clarity than ever before and could taste even the slightest impurity in the air, she couldn’t actually identify any of these stimulants. With her human consciousness fading into her wild sensual delirium, she felt like her body was a shell she was rapidly retreating into. She was able to physically feel herself falling back, further and further away from the reality her glowing eyes served as windows out to. By the time her bones stopped cracking, her disproportionately long arms, legs and torso left her rocking back and forth, slightly off-balance.

 

Ghetsis had seen enough. With Matt more than subdued for the moment by what they’d seen, he raised up his cane and yelled to the Shadow Triad, “What the hell are you waiting for?! Destroy her already!”

 

The Shadow Triad reached for their weapons, but before they could arm themselves, Nekou lunged at them with her mouth wide open. She crunched down on Darkness’s left-hand glove, breaking its metal with an earsplitting crack. He froze while his brothers stumbled back, overcome by fear - a rare emotion for any of them.

 

“You really are a monster,” he hissed at Nekou, the woman growling as she persisted in trying to bite all the way through to his arm, “and you have no place in this world!”

 

Besides his throwing stars and Poké Balls, Darkness was also armed with a sword - a real one, not a Pokémon like his brother’s - strapped to his back. He intended to finish her off with it, but just as his hand reached for the blade’s handle, he began to fall backwards as several strange sensations barraged his face. Chief among them was the chill of the winter air, which stung his skin.

 

 _“Wait, it’s… stinging?”_ he thought, confused.

 

The next sensation was that of a warm, sticky fluid running down his chin. Some of it got in his mouth, but even though he recognized the taste immediately, what had happened to him didn’t truly register until he heard his mask fall to the ground - in two pieces.

 

That sound snapped him out of his shock. Recovering his stance, he brought his hand to his now-uncovered face, and even through his glove he could tell multiple gashes had been slashed into his skin, oozing blood all over below his nose. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when he saw Nekou standing with one of her warped hands high in the air, making him understand exactly what had happened. She’d actually let go of his arm and somehow slashed clearly through his mask all the way to his skin, and she’d done it so quickly he couldn’t even see it.

 

“How dare you!” he roared at his attacker before turning his anger on his brothers. “What are you two doing?”

 

Chaos hung back despite Darkness’s demand, while Pestilence leapt straight at Nekou with Doublade in his hands, ready to strike.

 

Even though she didn’t turn her head towards him, Nekou’s other senses told her of Pestilence’s oncoming attack. _“You think you’re getting the drop on me?”_ the voice of her other self said in her head. _“Too bad. I can hear you, you know!”_

 

As soon as Pestilence was within reach, Nekou swung her arm around and raked her claw-like fingers across both of Doublade’s bodies. Her movements were mechanical, driven purely by the instincts of the entity controlling her. The real Nekou was still conscious inside her body, but she couldn’t help but feel like she was trapped in a rollercoaster ride she couldn’t control.

 

Doublade uttered a robotic, echoing cry of pain upon contact, and his blades were further stained by Nekou’s blood. The wounds on her hand that she’d given herself sealed up almost instantly. She raised her hand toward the three ninjas, making sure Darkness and Pestilence saw her flesh regenerating itself. From there, she was able to easily catch the knife Chaos had thrown at her out of the air.

 

“Impossible…” Chaos gasped, incredulously taking a step back. He became paralyzed as memories of his fight with Nekou on Route 30 flooded back. _“She was just using a fraction of her strength back then…”_ he realized. Every place on his arms where she had cut him back then started to burn anew, his body being overwhelmed by a terror that usually surfaced only when Ghetsis’s anger flared.

 

As he drew his sword, Darkness glared contemptuously at both his frightened brother and their bizarre nemesis. Chaos had always been less hardened than his siblings, a fact that had presented a problem for the Shadow Triad in serving Ghetsis’s whims before. Darkness knew that was an issue to address another time, though. Instead of confronting Chaos, Darkness tightened his grip on the handle of his sword and sprinted at Nekou.

 

“Just die already, you monster!” he thundered as he swung his blade at her.

 

All the effort he put into mounting his attack ended up being for nothing, however. In order to avoid being slashed, Nekou leaned back an impossible distance, causing Darkness to swing the sword harmlessly over her. She continued to move in an unnatural manner, as if her body was being manipulated by invisible puppet strings.

 

To her remaining consciousness, that may as well have been the case. Buried deep within her own mind and body, she could feel every one of the actions her other self used her form for even if she could do nothing to control them. She was so lost in the intense, intoxicating sensations of pleasure that none of it even mattered anymore, not to her clouded judgment. To just feel the wind caressing her skin and taste the air as she breathed was all the real Nekou could think of. It was a binge unlike any other.

 

_“Don’t let it end… please, just let me feel this forever…”_

 

 _“Now you’re getting it,”_ the other voice in her mind cooed to her. By then, the Shadow Triad had collectively regrouped and started attacking her again. _“You just wait there and relax. I’ll take care of these three nuisances.”_

 

Having come up on Nekou during her internal conversation, Pestilence raised both of Doublade’s swords high above her. Before he could strike, she grabbed his wrists so quickly he couldn’t see her moving, then tightened her hold so much that she cracked his metal gloves much like how she’d cracked his brother’s earlier. Chaos attempted to seize this opening by throwing three more knives at her, but with her enhanced reflexes, Nekou was able to snatch her switchblade from her coat and use it to deflect them all. She then caught Darkness’s sword as he furiously brought it down toward her again, breaking it in the grip of her left hand. The resulting bloody wounds on that hand sealed up almost immediately, despite how deep they were.

 

“Nekou…” Matt listlessly uttered between his quick, shallow breaths. “I… I don’t understand…”

 

A single thought quickly settled into Matt’s mind - to help Nekou stop the Shadow Triad - but he was thinking far from clearly. Though he was on some level still aware that all the Pokémon he still had on hand had been badly beaten by Ghetsis’s Pokémon, his concern at what was unfolding before him overrode his logical thoughts. He started to head for the brawl, but barely got a step forward before being stopped by something powerful seizing his body.

 

“You aren’t going anywhere,” Ghetsis taunted him, tossing Metagross’s Ultra Ball up and down while the great iron beast held Matt in place using the blue light of its Psychic attack. “Even that monster won’t be able to survive against all three of them at once with the training I gave them. Won’t you enjoy having a front row seat for that show?”

 

“I’m really getting tired of listening to you…”

 

Almost immediately upon those words leaving his mouth, Matt realized what he’d said and gasped nervously. The last thing he wanted was to further provoke Ghetsis in any fashion. Much to his surprise, however, Ghetsis responded by laughing.

 

“Have to say I admire you for having that sort of courage, kid…” he said, his voice briefly sounding almost jovial. His tone swiftly darkened, along with his cheerful smile being replaced by his usual sinister grin. “Of course, that also tells me about your complete foolishness!”

 

Suddenly moving with agility belied by his seemingly frail body, Ghetsis struck Matt in the back with his cane, forcing a reflexive, agonized groan from his victim. Matt felt a spike of pain flow through his entire body, made even worse by the fact that his movements were still restrained to mere twitches.

 

Ghetsis stepped forward and started to raise his cane to hit Matt again. Just as he got it into the air, though, he was interrupted by a familiar voice that spoke loudly to him from behind.

 

“Oh, Mister Ghetsis, do give me a minute.”

 

Hearing Colress’s voice caused Ghetsis’s sadistic glee to turn into a rage he could barely contain. Clenching his teeth and tightening his grip on his cane as he lowered it, he slowly turned around. Behind him, a large holographic projection displayed Colress’s grinning visage.

 

“I’m busy, Colress,” Ghetsis said, a slight growl slipping into his voice. “What do you want?”

 

Colress did not answer immediately. Despite realizing how angry Ghetsis was at his interruption from his voice, Colress never stopped smiling.

 

“I beg your forgiveness, Mister Ghetsis,” Colress said after his short hesitation, completely insincerely. “I do think you’ll want to see this. Look who showed up…”

 

The hologram flickered, replacing Colress’s face with an image of a stone path from the traditional eastern half of Ecruteak City. Standing squarely in the middle of the frame was Nikolai, looking up and calling out at the sky with his arms spread wide. Seeing him made Ghetsis spin back around, nearly dropping his cane as he fumbled for one of his Poké Balls.

 

“Cofagrigus, hold that monster back!” Ghetsis commanded the instant his Cofagrigus appeared from the sphere. He offered her additional direction by pointing his cane at the continuing fight between Nekou and the Shadow Triad.

 

Understanding what her master wanted, Cofagrigus floated near the brawl and reached into the tangle with her four ethereal hands. Each of the Ghost-type’s appendages seized one of Nekou’s elongated limbs, quickly limiting her movements. The Shadow Triad all backed away from her as Cofagrigus lifted her into the air and turned their eyes to Ghetsis, understanding what their leader’s intervention meant.

 

“I’ll take care of her!” Ghetsis roared before moving aside and pointing at the hologram with his cane. “You three, deal with that!”

 

“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!” all three of them immediately replied, their stances becoming rigid as a reflexive show of compliance.

 

Turning his attention to his assigned task, Darkness then took a Poké Ball off his belt and opened it, calling out, “Greninja, Smokescreen!”

 

After materializing from the Poké Ball surrounded by sparkling light, Greninja rose to his full height and brought his hands together with his fingers raised in front of his mouth. He held this stance for a brief moment before abruptly raising his right hand into the air, triggering a burst of thick black smoke that fully obscured the Shadow Triad.

 

“Where… are you…” Matt struggled to say, still completely restrained by Metagross’s Psychic.

 

“I won’t be needing them to finish you two off now,” Ghetsis boasted as he swaggered up next to his captive. The smoke faded to reveal the Shadow Triad had vanished, bringing Ghetsis’s characteristic smirk back onto his face. “You can’t protect anyone from me in the end. I think you’re beginning to finally understand the despair of that fact…” Ghetsis slowly ran his hand down Matt’s left cheek. Matt would have shivered under his menacing touch if he was not restrained. “They’ve gone to fetch my son for me.”

 

“Your… son?”

 

“You know him as Nikolai,” Ghetsis smugly explained, “but his real name is N. That warped, defective boy was supposed to be the king of my Team Plasma years ago, but he betrayed me.”

 

Matt’s mind raced as he struggled to process what he was being told. “But then… why do you...”

 

“You must have had no idea about who he truly is,” Ghetsis continued, initially ignoring Matt’s attempted question. “That part is what surprises me. I expected that your little girlfriend would have told you more, but I guess it’s no shock with all the other lies she’s told you. Oh, and since you asked, N is still an important weapon for me, so his past betrayal will not stop me from taking him back.”

 

“But… what for?” Matt questioned, his voice shaky. He could feel a rising sense of dread creeping up his body, getting more intense the more he thought about what Ghetsis intended to do.

 

“You’ve seen him talk to Pokémon, I’m sure. That power is something I need, even though you know I can do something similar. You see, there’s one special Pokémon that only N’s voice can reach…” Matt started to mentally panic, trying to figure out what Ghetsis was talking about. Meanwhile, Ghetsis laughed out loud, amused by his own words. “I’m getting ahead of myself. I do like telling stories, but that one is probably something you and her won’t live to hear.”

 

Though he had known it subconsciously for quite a while, it wasn’t until he heard those words that Matt fully realized Ghetsis intended to kill him along with Nekou. His skin turned even more pale than it already was, and he tried to break from the vice-like grip Metagross’s mind had on him. Despite his efforts, all his pulling got him nowhere. Quickly realizing the futility of what he was doing, he gave up and went limp in Metagross’s grasp while he breathed heavily.

 

Nekou, meanwhile, was faring better against her ghostly captor. Cofagrigus fought against her monstrous strength to maintain a hold on her, but the Ghost-type was gradually losing her hold on the violently thrashing woman. As they fought, Nekou pulled back and then threw herself forward with all her might, flipping Cofagrigus over her head. The coffin Pokémon screeched loudly as she was upended, and her shadowy hands slipped from holding Nekou’s limbs. While Cofagrigus crashed to the floor several feet away, Nekou fell and rolled over herself but quickly recovered. As soon as she was back on her feet, she turned her crazed, glowing eyes in the direction of Matt and Ghetsis. She breathed deeply and exhaled, a slight growl escaping from between her clenched teeth, then started to run right at them with her fingers curled into claws.

 

Suddenly, Matt felt the tight, squeezing hold Metagross had on him disappear, leaving him feeling strangely weightless as his body tried to adjust. He started to fall face-first toward the floor, and less than a second later, he could feel Metagross flying over him and hear Ghetsis calling out an order.

 

“Metagross, Meteor Mash!”

 

Even though he was falling forward, Matt kept his eyes locked on Nekou, despite having to twist his neck up to do so. Just before his chin hit the floor, he saw the great iron beast bring one of its thick legs down on her. As Nekou charged forward, the Steel-and-Psychic-type slammed its attack right into the center of her back. A sickened groan mixed with a mad scream slipped from her throat as she was crushed into the ground.

 

Horrified beyond belief, Matt reached toward Nekou’s broken, still body with his trembling right arm. “No…” he whispered in despair, only to have the wind knocked from his lungs when Ghetsis stepped onto his back.

 

“Now you’re finally getting the idea of how powerless you are against me,” Ghetsis bragged, savoring his position with his eyes shut. “Let that feeling of hopelessness fill every inch of your body. Actually, now that the monster is put down for good, why don’t you and I have a little fun?”

 

To punctuate his words, Ghetsis pushed his heel harder into Matt’s back, forcing a gasp of air from his mouth.

 

-:-

 

Multiple flashes of bright orange light shined from between the buildings on Ecruteak’s western side, the product of Ho-oh still fighting off the group of Pokémon. Pierce could still easily see the flares from the top of Bell Tower, and although he wasn’t looking at Anthea and Concordia as they sat behind him, he knew they could too.

 

No, it wasn’t that he was simply choosing not to look at them, he realized. He couldn’t bring himself to. The three of them being trapped on the tower was because of his own lack of planning for their escape. He mentally berated himself for failing on something he took pride in at the worst possible time, while clenching his fists so tightly his nylon gloves strained around them.

 

“Pierce?”

 

 _“Shiit,”_ Pierce thought, clenching his teeth. He knew just from hearing his mother’s voice what she was about to ask, and he was far from ready to answer.

 

“Pierce?” Anthea repeated, finally getting her son to slightly turn his head. “How are we going to get away from here?”

 

Without a word, Pierce shifted his gaze back to his glider, which was still waiting nearby. He stared at it intently for several seconds, then briefly looked off toward a spot on the ground before firmly shutting his eyes. There was one idea that entered his mind, but he hated to even consider it. Finally, Pierce fully turned around, facing his mother and his aunt. Just looking at them made his stomach twist into knots. Memories from his earliest years, shared with them both, welled up anew in his mind. There was no way he could help it. He’d spent so many years carefully inscribing every detail into his memory that he could never escape them even if he wanted to.

 

Pierce knew that his plan would require cutting one of those threads off, likely forever. And as much as he hated to admit it, when he had to choose which one to preserve, there was no way he could not choose Anthea.

 

Resigning himself to his choice, Pierce said, “Mother, I need you to-”

 

As he was stepping toward Anthea, however, Pierce’s instruction got cut off, and he froze in place. The interruption came in the form of a bright light, shining from just a few feet away, still well on the tower’s roof. When Pierce, Anthea and Concordia focused on it, they could see a golden ring within the light. Moments later, the Prophet stepped out of it with Hoopa at her side and Alesia just behind her. Seeing them, Pierce let out a relieved sigh.

 

 _“I don’t have to do it now…”_ Pierce shared a short nod with the Prophet as she approached the group, happy that they had all been rescued.

 

“Thank you for taking care of them this long,” the hooded woman acknowledged. “We’ll handle it from here.”

 

“Who are you?” Concordia questioned with a nervous shake in her voice. “I feel like you’re familiar to me…”

 

“Here.” The Prophet extended her hand to help Concordia stand. As soon as their skin touched, Concordia jumped, and a glow filled her eyes. When it faded shortly afterward, the Prophet smiled as she felt Concordia relax in her grasp. “Yes, I think you can tell who I am now. We both have gone through a lot, but our Transcendence still binds us together.”

 

“Is this the help you mentioned, Pierce?” Anthea asked her son, having stood up on her own.

 

“Well… one part of the help, I guess.” Pierce stifled a chuckle. Something about the situation felt funny to him, but he knew that deep down it was just his relief overwhelming him.

 

“Here, go through the ring,” the Prophet instructed her fellow Tenganists. “It will lead you to safety.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“We,” Alesia replied despite Concordia’s question being directed at the Prophet, “have an important job to do up here on Bell Tower. We’ll join you later.”

 

“Pierce?”

 

Feeling his emotions beginning to escape his control, Pierce forced himself to embrace his mother as an answer to her. It wasn’t the time or the place for him to show just how he felt, not yet. He had to let her go quickly too, as he felt tears starting to form in his eyes.

 

“I will need Pierce’s help as well,” the Prophet intervened. “Please, go through the ring and wait for us on the other side.”

 

Both Anthea and Concordia started to walk toward the ring, but when they were each a few steps away, Anthea paused and held Concordia’s shoulder, prompting the woman to stop as well. Looking over her shoulder, she quietly said, “Pierce, be careful… make sure you come back.”

 

“I promise I will,” he answered without even thinking. He didn’t have to. “I’ve been through so much to get here, so it wouldn’t be fair if we couldn’t all catch up…” As he spoke, his emotions started to come to the surface again. “...all of us, together…”

 

“Please, go! We do not have much time!” On the Prophet’s urging, Anthea and Concordia finally passed through the portal, which shrank and closed behind them. Once they were gone, the Prophet brought her attention fully to Pierce. “As for you, that machine of yours might not have been useful for getting them out of here,” she paused briefly to let the sting of her words sink in, “but I can work with that. You still have plenty of ammunition, correct?”

 

Though Pierce was even more humiliated than ever for his lack of planning, he resisted showing it. “Enough, why?”

 

“Your job in this will be to shoot down those,” she explained, gesturing to the drones orbiting the city. “If we can bring that barrier down, it’ll be easier for those who want to escape from the riots to do so. I doubt any of the rioters themselves will be interested in leaving right now, so the risk is minimal.”

 

“That makes sense.” Pierce turned and headed for his glider, his body and spirit reinvigorated by having something to focus on. _“At least I can do something to be of use now…”_

 

Meanwhile, back near the center of Bell Tower’s roof, Alesia and Hoopa followed the Prophet as she approached the glowing circle on the floor. Once the hooded woman reached the symbol’s edge, she stopped and gestured for her follower and the Pokémon to stay back. Alesia halted immediately, but had to grab Hoopa’s hand in order to stop it.

 

“Ghetsis…” the Prophet whispered to herself, making sure she wasn’t speaking loud enough for Alesia to hear. “You’ve taken so much from me.. everything I lived my life to become was taken away, but I found a new purpose…” As she went on, the Prophet felt her anger and despair steadily increase. She started to shake, and her voice became more and more raspy from rage. “I’ll protect all my people who are left from you, so none of them ever have to live this nightmare again…”

 

After taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she brought her hands together.

 

“Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

-:-

 

Matt’s pained groan drifted toward the sky, forced from him when Ghetsis drove his cane into Matt’s chest. He didn’t suffer quite as much of a catastrophic wound as most would have due to the metal plating beneath his skin, which nevertheless made Ghetsis fall deeper into mad excitement anyway.

 

“So what they say really is true, you did turn yourself into a monster too!” Moving quickly, Ghetsis swept Matt’s legs with his cane, making him fall to his knees when he struck Matt’s still-organic right leg. He then immediately grabbed Matt by the neck and began to raise him up. “And yet, what did you do it for?”

 

“Because…” Matt’s voice was more like a croak due to Ghetsis’s stranglehold on his throat. “I had to… there was something I… still had to…”

 

“You threw away your humanity and yet you completely lack the ambition to justify it. Mankind was given the ability to be so great, so powerful, because mankind isn’t like anything else on this planet. Now do you finally understand? That is why it’s my destiny to lead, because I am an example of humanity’s perfection! Someone like you makes me sick!”

 

With that, Ghetsis slammed Matt to the ground, showing strength that completely belied his frail frame. Something fell out of the inside of Matt’s coat and thumped onto the floor next to him. He weakly turned his head toward it, but when he saw what it was, he regained enough energy to desperately reach for it.

 

Matt barely got near the pocket watch before Ghetsis plunged his cane down into his mechanical arm, making it lock up.

 

“Oh, what’s wrong?” Ghetsis mocked him as his metal hand twitched. “Does the robot actually have a heart after all? What’s so important about that thing?”

 

Seeing Ghetsis start to lean down and reach for the pocket watch made Matt try to force himself up. No matter how hard he tried, though, he was unable to. The shock of Ghetsis’s cane grinding into his arm was reverberating through his entire body.

 

All he could do when Ghetsis picked it up was try to raise his voice. “Put it… put that down!”

 

“And what are you going to do about it?” Ghetsis pushed his cane further down into Matt’s arm to emphasize his control of the situation, then opened the watch. He did not react at first. When he flipped the picture within over, however, he stared in surprise at it for a moment before tilting his head back and laughing out loud toward the sky.

 

“What’s so… funny?”

 

Instead of answering right away, Ghetsis just kept laughing. When he finally managed to compose himself, he closed the watch, pulled his cane from Matt’s arm, and stepped back.

 

“What Finansielle said about you really was true,” he chuckled before tossing the watch back to Matt. While his younger enemy forced himself to stand again, Ghetsis continued to talk, smirking all the while. “You and your grandfather are just like each other, exactly like she said.”

 

Matt coughed up a tiny amount of blood, then shot back, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

 

“The Tenganists. Your dear old grandfather couldn’t keep his hands off them, and from the look of things, neither could you.”

 

In full spite of the situation, Matt could feel himself growing embarrassed. “It wasn’t like that, not ever…” As Ghetsis’s words caught up with him, Matt lowered his head and thought, _“What’s he talking about with my grandfather?”_

 

“Spare me, I’m not in the mood to hear a story. But…” Ghetsis took a single step forward, punctuated by him loudly jabbing his cane into the floor. Matt could see a devious glint in Ghetsis’s eye, one that deeply disturbed him. He dreaded to think what it was Ghetsis was about to say. “...I think I’ve got a story _you’ll_ want to hear.”

 

“And what makes you think I want to listen to it?” Even though Matt tried to turn his nose up at the suggestion, both figuratively and literally, he knew it was a failing act. He wasn’t sure if it was Ghetsis’s power getting inside his head or not, but something about it made him feel like he had to know the story.

 

“Oh, I’m sure you do. Don’t archeologists always love hearing stories about the past? You wouldn’t want to disappoint your grandfather’s memory, do you?” He’d never show it, but Matt felt a deep pang of shame to have his relationship with his grandfather questioned, even if he knew it was from someone whose opinion he didn’t care about. “I think you’ll be rather intrigued by the topic, too. You see, the little Tenganist girl, the one in your watch… I had a rather interesting encounter with her when I visited Michina Town.”

 

As soon as he heard that, Matt could no longer contain himself. Somehow he could tell Ghetsis wasn’t lying, and the possibilities of what Ghetsis meant made his blood run cold. Even though he had just been getting beaten by the man, Matt grabbed Ghetsis by the shoulders, not thinking of the risk to himself.

 

“What did you do to Sheena?!” he screamed, his voice colored by a mix of anger and fear. The most immediate answer he could think of for that question was the worst one, and it was something he fully feared would happen to him next. After all, he’d just seen it happen to Nekou, and if it had happened to Sheena as well, there would be no good reason for Ghetsis to not do it to him as well. His voice fell dramatically in volume as he asked, “Did you kill her?”

 

For an answer, Matt got his neck grabbed by Ghetsis again. His hands slipped off of Ghetsis’s shoulders and instinctively moved to try and pry Ghetsis’s grip off, but this effort was in vain. The Team Plasma leader’s hold was too secure, and Matt was too weak from the beating he’d suffered.

 

“Sheena? So that was her name…” Ghetsis huffed and then said, “I don’t want the story to end too soon. But since you asked… I think you’ll enjoy hearing about how I watched the life drain out of her eyes.” Matt froze instantly upon hearing this, both physically and mentally. Taking notice of it, Ghetsis made sure to make his tone even more condescending. “Those are the moments that I love to see the most, when all the life drains away from people. When they’re right at the brink, that’s when they truly do lose all hope. That time is so beautiful, with how fleeting it is…” Ghetsis slightly loosened his grasp, allowing Matt to breathe more easily. “Wouldn’t want you to expire before you hear this story.”

 

“Kill me already if you’re going to,” Matt hissed. “Send me where they are.”

 

“Not yet.” A sudden realization entered Ghetsis’s mind then, causing him to pause. He even drew a sharp breath and widened his one visible eye when the idea hit him, both things unusual for someone who meticulously planned things as he did. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner! Why should I waste my time telling you the story when I can _show_ you it? Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? I’ll bring you along so you can witness her fate first-hand and realize just how hopeless your situation is. Now… transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

Matt nearly had a heart attack when he heard Ghetsis using the chant to invoke Transcendence, even though he already knew Ghetsis possessed one. He didn’t have much time to panic about that, however, for within a fraction of a second he felt a presence invading his mind. It felt disgusting and evil, almost like he could imagine Ghetsis’s fingers probing his brain. Yet at the same time, something about it felt strangely familiar, like it had been in his mind sometime in the past.

 

_“It… no! It can’t be hers… if it is, then Ghetsis really did…”_

 

Visions entered Matt’s mind against his will. They started out hazy, but quickly gained clarity. The mountains towering over an ancient town and the vast fields beyond came to him first, and then the ruins nestled away on one of the tallest peaks. All of it was familiar to him. Too familiar, in fact. Having these images that he knew so well forced into his mind, he felt renewed fear of what Ghetsis was about to show him. He wanted to react in some way, to do something to free himself, but Ghetsis’s hypnotic power left him enthralled.

 

Matt was completely blinded to what was actually going on around him when he suddenly felt the grip on his throat release. He had collapsed into a heap on the floor before the visions fully left him, allowing him to once again see his actual surroundings.

 

“What’s going on…” he wheezed while looking around in confusion. Even though he could see clearly again, none of it immediately registered, owing to Ghetsis’s powers taking their time to fully leave his brain.

 

He was snapped back into reality, however, when Ghetsis stomped the ground right in front of him, missing his head by less than a foot. Looking up, Matt saw Ghetsis clutching his face with his right hand while barely managing to hold on to his cane with his left. The Team Plasma leader was stumbling around, seemingly struggling to stay upright.

 

“What… the hell… is this…?” Ghetsis grumbled to himself, pain shooting through his head. “This shouldn’t be happening…”

 

Ghetsis turned away from Matt and staggered to the front of the airship, leaving the object of his beating dumbfounded at his actions. At the bow of the ship, Ghetsis leaned on the railing to support himself and focused his sight on Bell Tower. When he saw the Prophet on the tower’s summit, standing with her hands clasped in prayer, he immediately understood exactly what the source of his headache was. His rage boiled over almost immediately, contorting his face into an almost inhuman expression.

 

“Of course _you_ show up now!” he raged out to the open air, banging his cane on the floor again and again. “I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance!” Ghetsis bent slightly forward over the rail, putting more of his weight on it so he could catch his breath. Several deep gasps brought him some composure, allowing him to reign in his emotions. “Just because you came here to be a hero,” he finally said, “doesn’t mean you get to be one. Sorry!”

 

With that, Ghetsis shut his eyes and cleared his mind of all but one thing: keeping his control over Ho-oh. Bringing all his power back to it, he could sense the Prophet trying to break into Ho-oh’s mind and free it. Clenching his teeth, he resolved to not let her and started to mentally push back.

 

-:-

 

Having finished their business with Mareep near the now-hidden Dance Theater, Olivia and the others in her group resumed their trek up north. There was not much in the way of conversation between them, nor was there any real need for it. They were all focused on simply reaching Kate’s group and supporting them, so nothing else was necessary.

 

As they approached the Battle Hall, something caught Olivia’s eye, prompting her to signal Tanya to stop. Nikolai was standing nearby, staring up at the sky with his arms spread out wide. Bill and Audrey were with him, attempting to pull him back with both their hands and their panicked warnings about his safety. The green-haired young man ignored their pleas, however, and pulled away from them every time they tried to make him move.

 

“I wonder what’s going on over there,” Olivia said to herself, drawing a grunt from Tanya in response.

 

Olivia started to look away from Nikolai, Bill and Audrey, but before they were out of her sight, the Shadow Triad materialized in front of them. Darkness’s Greninja was with Ghetsis’s three servants, and as soon as they appeared, he used his tongue to ensnare Nikolai. Bill and Audrey stumbled back, while Nikolai managed to reach one of his Poké Balls, which he opened to release his Stantler. The Normal-type Pokémon immediately stood rigidly upright, using his horns in an attempt to intimidate Greninja. As soon as he saw the trouble his friend was in, Stantler cloaked his body in electricity and tackled the frog. Greninja was briefly stunned by the Wild Charge, but the electricity flowed through his body into his tongue and shocked Nikolai himself as well. Despite this, he managed to suppress his pain, merely cringing on the ground once free from Greninja’s tongue. He then gave Stantler an appreciative head rub, though his movements were weak.

 

“You’re coming with us, N!” Darkness commanded him. “Lord Ghetsis demands your presence, and he demands it right now!”

 

“Why are you calling me that?” Nikolai shouted back with narrowed eyes, pulling at his bracelets while he spoke. “You did it last time, too!”

 

As the fight between Nikolai and the Shadow Triad continued intensifying, the other members of Olivia’s group started taking notice. Rowena was the first to come back to where Olivia was, and had started to record what was playing out. Avril, Monroe, Bunny and Nando all followed.

 

“We should do something about this,” Nando proposed, an uncharacteristic hint of nervousness sneaking into his voice.

 

“I don’t disagree with you,” Bunny said back, her breathing made rapid by both her running and her increasing fear, “but we have to go help Kate. That’s where we’re supposed to be…”

 

“You go help Kate, I’ll do this,” Olivia volunteered, clutching at the folds of her coat. “Take Tanya with you, you’ll need her more.”

 

Both Avril and Bunny could only look at Olivia in surprise when they heard her declaration. Their shared shock came from differing sources; while Bunny was more worried about Olivia’s safety, Avril was just impressed.

 

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” Bunny questioned. “I can’t let anything happen to you. Don’t you think you’d be better off taking Tanya with you?”

 

“What good is it if I rely on Matt’s Pokémon instead of my own?” the younger girl forcefully answered. “I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t try!”

 

 _“She just keeps surprising me,”_ Avril thought, smiling to herself. _“Sure isn’t what I thought she was back then.”_

 

Standing next to his sister, Monroe was having very different thoughts on the matter. _“She’s crazy! There’s no way she can do this all alone!”_

 

Just as Olivia started to leave, Monroe ran after her. She saw him and briefly paused, but ultimately decided not to stop him.

 

“Somebody’s got a crush,” Avril mumbled through pursed lips as her brother and Olivia started running toward the melee.

 

“I’m glad you waited to say that,” Bunny dryly said to the younger girl. “I really didn’t feel like dealing with what would happen if she heard you.”

 

Meanwhile, unaware of the disruption that was soon to arrive, the Shadow Triad were continuing with their attempted subduing of Nikolai. The Stantler allied with their target was actually a fair match for Darkness’s Greninja, able to sufficiently keep up with his enemy’s shifting types with the moves he knew. Every time Greninja used Water Shuriken, Stantler promptly countered with Wild Charge, while uses of Smack Down and Smokescreen left him open to Jump Kick because of transformations to the Rock and Normal types, respectively.

 

With their leader more or less at a stalemate against Nikolai, Pestilence and Chaos decided to intervene, each throwing one of their own Ultra Balls into the fight. Pestilence’s released a hulking, green-and-white Pokémon with thick arms and a bulky, spiked shell, who stood at a somewhat hunched-over angle. Chaos’s gave shape to a creature with fox-like features that also resembled a wizard wearing long, tattered robes of red, yellow and white formed from his fur. In his hand, the Pokémon held a stick that he had taken from the fur on his arm. A bright flame burned on the end of the stick, making it look more like a magic wand of sorts.

 

The two Pokémon hadn’t even fully formed before Greninja sprang into the air again, clutching a Water Shuriken in each hand. Accordingly, the spots on his body turned blue, signifying his Protean ability shifting his type back into Water. Stantler was able to endure the first of the shurikens with only a few cuts to his body. When Greninja started to spin around to build up momentum for the second one, Stantler saw his chance. He barked a loud cry and leapt at Greninja, his body electrified once more.

 

“Ches!” grunted the armored beast sent by Pestilence. He lumbered forward, allowing Greninja to land behind him, then slammed his fists together in front of himself. A circular shield fanned out from his arms. Once it was fully formed, a glowing, green energy layer materialized over it, increasing the shield’s size and lengthening the giant needles sticking out of it.

 

Even with his sharp perception, Stantler was unable to stop his attack in time to avoid colliding with the second Pokémon’s barrier. Not only was his Wild Charge neutralized, but several of the spikes stuck deeply into him, making him cry out in pain. Nikolai could only watch in horror, and the situation got even worse when Greninja jumped up onto the second Pokémon’s shoulders, still holding the remaining Water Shuriken.

 

“It’s too bad Lord Ghetsis couldn’t be here to see this feeble resistance of yours firsthand,” Darkness sneered at Nikolai. “I’m getting bored of this. Greninja, finish it off.”

 

Greninja had been getting ready to throw the shuriken even before Darkness ordered him to do it, so he smiled to himself beneath his tongue scarf. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled his arms back and channeled even more water energy into the star, making it further grow in size.

 

His attention, along with the attention of his master and teammates, was so focused on Nikolai and Stantler that none of them noticed the orb of bolt of electricity shooting straight for him. The Thunderbolt struck the Water Shuriken before it left Greninja’s hands, causing both to dissipate in a small explosion. Surprised by the sudden disruption and the vanishing of his weapon, Greninja nearly fell off the other Pokémon’s back.

 

“Olivia…” Nikolai uttered, staring blankly as she and Monroe came between him and the Shadow Triad, offering Stantler the chance to recover and pull back. Mareep was at Olivia’s side, her wool still crackling with energy. “Thank you…”

 

Greninja and the other two Pokémon lined up next to each other and looked scornfully down on Mareep in an attempt to frighten her. Their efforts failed, as Mareep just growled back at them and started charging more electricity in her wool.

 

“How cute,” Darkness derided them, crossing his arms. “The kids think they’re making some big brave stand.” Turning around to Chaos, he commanded, “You met them before, you dispose of them.”

 

For a brief second, Chaos hesitated. Years of conditioning quickly set in, however, and he automatically thrust his right arm out.

 

“Delphox, Mystical Fire!”

 

Delphox, the wizard-like fox that was the third of the Shadow Triad’s Pokémon, stepped forward and pointed the stick he held in Mareep’s direction. The flame on its tip started to intensify, and Delphox huffed smugly to himself once the flame reached a size he was satisfied with. At that point, he drew a circle in the air, creating a ring of fire that soon became an inferno washing toward Mareep and Olivia.

 

“Mareep, Thunderb-”

 

More than ready to counterattack without her new trainer’s direction, Mareep bleated loudly and released an intense burst of electrical energy from her body. Even with all the strength she put into it, however, Delphox’s fiery assault was much too strong. The Mystical Fire cut right through Mareep’s attack and kept on going.

 

Olivia felt as if time slowed to a crawl as she watched the flames approach Mareep. Already, she was mentally berating herself. _“Mareep followed me because it wanted to get into fights, and now the first fight I get it into after catching it…”_

 

Both Olivia and Mareep cringed and shut their eyes tightly for protection from the bright light resulting from Mystical Fire suddenly hitting something they couldn’t see. The explosion of flame went on for several seconds before subsiding. When they sensed that it had, they slowly reopened their eyes to put to rest their questions about their savior’s identity.

 

Standing before them, clutching two blades of water enveloped in black light, was a second Greninja. This one was blue - the species’ normal color - and stood on the side of Olivia and her friends.

 

“Where did…” Olivia said in awe, her words quickly coming to fail her.

 

“I wish it didn’t have to come to this,” Monroe mumbled, stepping forward as he put a Poké Ball away. “Olivia, I wanted you to see my other Pokémon, but not in a situation like this.”

 

“You think that your interference will change anything, boy?” Darkness still maintained his confidence, but it was evident in his voice that he was becoming annoyed. “You are still outnumbered against us. Greninja, go forth!”

 

Darkness’s black Greninja jumped off of his companion’s head and landed in front of Monroe’s blue Greninja, standing up at his full height to assert his presence. Monroe’s responded by discarding the blades of water and lowering herself closer to the ground in preparation to jump at her enemy.

 

While the two Greninja got ready to fight, the green-and-white Pokémon lumbered forward to rejoin Delphox. Both of them set their sights on Mareep, who had been staring at Monroe’s Greninja and shaking in anger over having her fight interrupted. Once she saw she would still get to battle, though, she cheered up.

 

“Smack Down!”

 

“Greninja, use Night Slash again, please!”

 

Darkness’s Greninja acted first, his spots turning to a shade of orange as he swung his hand horizontally across his line of vision, throwing rocks at his opponent. Monroe’s swiftly recreated her water blades and cut down the first wave of stones before they even regained their black glow. She pushed forward even though Darkness’s Greninja refused to cease flinging rocks at her, drawing closer and closer to him in spite of his actions. Once she was close enough, she jumped into the air and swung the blades toward him. To defend himself he instantly generated a pair of Water Shurikens and used them to parry her strike, the spots on his body becoming blue again as he did so.

 

Seizing on the distraction the dueling Greninja provided them, Pestilence and Chaos decided to act. The former went first, calling out, “Chesnaught, Seed Bomb!”

 

Chesnaught stomped forward and roared. He spit a number of baseball-sized, green seeds in Mareep’s direction, but the sheep Pokémon lashed out with yet another Thunderbolt. Each time a seed was struck by one of the lightning bolts, it exploded, effectively neutralizing both sides’ attacks. As a side effect of this, the air filled with a black haze.

 

“Psyshock!” Chaos ordered.

 

With the smoke obscuring their vision, Olivia, Mareep nor any of their allies could see what Delphox was doing. They remained in the dark until he pierced through the clouds with a silvery, jagged beam of psychic energy he fired from his eyes. Mareep tried to deflect it with electricity, but this time, her strength was not enough to overpower the attack. Delphox’s Psyshock tore right through the Thunderbolt and struck Mareep, drawing a pained bleat from her.

 

“Mareep, hold on!” Olivia cried out as she started running to Mareep’s side. When Chesnaught spat one more Seed Bomb at Mareep, however, the Electric-type was thrown violently into her new trainer. The two of them were, in turn, caught by Nikolai when he stepped behind them and spread his arms. Now pinned between Mareep and Nikolai, Olivia struggled to get back up. “I have to… I have to do something…”

 

“Please, Olivia, do not push yourself too much,” Nikolai quietly said.

 

“But if we don’t fight them to protect you…”

 

Olivia’s protest was cut off when a shadow loomed over them. It belonged to a Steelix that had suddenly appeared, with her iron body glistening in the light. Olivia stared in awe at the Pokémon for a minute before looking off to the side, where she could see Monroe putting away another Poké Ball. The look of anger in his eyes was unlike anything she’d seen from him before.

 

“Pick on someone your own size,” he threatened Pestilence and Chaos.

 

Neither brother could resist a suppressed laugh, and they both looked scornfully down on the young man challenging them.

 

“You are going to regret interfering in this…” Pestilence warned in a dire tone. “Chesnaught, show him what your Seed Bomb really feels like!”

 

“As for you, Delphox,” Chaos added, “use Mystical Fire!”

 

Delphox acted first, stepping forward and drawing his stick wand with a growl. He was well into drawing the fiery circle that would serve as the genesis for his attack before Chesnaught started to carry out his own.

 

Recognizing that Pestilence and Chaos were staggering their assault, Monroe raised his hand up into the air and called out, “Steelix, try blocking it with Aqua Tail!”

 

A low, guttural grunt slipped from Steelix’s spacious mouth in response to her enemies’ action.  She lowered her head while raising up her tail and the lowermost sections of her metal body, which became wrapped in a tightly twisting layer of water. Delphox’s flames were upon her by then, so she barely had enough time to swing her tail forward and cut them off.

 

The collision of Delphox’s Mystical Fire and Steelix’s Aqua Tail created a cloud of steam. Only a few seconds later, the stream of seeds spit by Chesnaught tore through the haze, dispelling it and buffeting Steelix’s upper portions. While they did not do much in the way of visible damage, each impact sent a small shock through her, and she tightened herself up in response to them.

 

Olivia, meanwhile, was watching the battle while still lying caught between Mareep and Nikolai. She was in awe of what was playing out in front of her.

 

 _“He’s fighting all three of them at once, somehow…”_ she thought. Unable to move, she could only glance back and forth at the two fights in front of her with her mouth hanging open. While Steelix held firm against Chesnaught and Delphox, Monroe’s Greninja clashed with Darkness’s. The black Greninja had resorted to using his Water Shurikens as handheld weapons against his blue opponent’s water blades. _“I never expected it… he’s strong, so strong… I can’t do this, I can’t stand up to them myself…”_

 

Olivia shut her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her face as her self-defeating thoughts consumed her. She thought of Avril and Renzo, just as she had during her battle with Bugsy, and before long she imagined her father talking to her again.

 

_“Olivia, you have to try harder. Look at everything we went through together! It’s not your fault you got kidnapped by Enigma Shadow five years ago, but you have to be stronger now! You have to be able to protect yourself!”_

 

“Don’t you think I’m trying?! Maybe I just can’t do it!”

 

Olivia’s outburst made Nikolai jump slightly. When he looked down at her, he could see strange, tiny movements in her eyelids, even as they remained shut. These movements slowly spread to the rest of her face, and all of a sudden, Nikolai could feel Olivia’s body start to twitch against him.

 

“I wish I knew what pains her so much…” he mused, before briefly stopping to cringe from the sound of an explosion overhead. “I can hear the inner voices of Pokémon, but humans remain a puzzle to me…”

 

If Nikolai had been able to use his Transcendence and peer inside Olivia’s mind, what he would have seen would have surprised him. The hallucination of Rich had disappeared from her consciousness, inexplicably being replaced by a vision of Ho-oh flying over them. Had she been fully conscious and able to examine the vision, she wouldn’t have been able to understand it. As the situation stood, she was only aware she was seeing it.

 

-:-

 

The sound of another explosion spread over Ecruteak City, just one more in the seemingly endless chain of such noise that day. It came from one of Colress’s drones, which had been reduced to burning, mangled scrap after being hit by a missile Pierce fired from his glider.

 

Flying not too far away, Pierce watched the wrecked device fall, then looked around at the barrier, which had become temporarily visible due to the disruption in its generation. _“Another one down, but I don’t think I have anywhere near enough missiles to destroy it completely…”_

 

While looking around, he caught a glimpse of the Prophet locked in prayer on the top of Bell Tower. Seeing this helped him focus his mind on his task. Returning to the drones that were still circling the city, he narrowed his eyes, attempting to zero in on one. A targeting reticle in his communicator’s eyepiece scanned his line of sight, making several passes over the visible drones before locking onto one.

 

“Got you!”

 

A hatch on the bottom of Pierce’s glider opened, allowing another small missile to emerge. It rocketed through the air and followed the drone, catching up with its target in seconds. The resulting blast claimed the drone, mangling it beyond recognition, much like the others he’d shot down.

 

Pierce paid little mind to the barrier briefly flashing again, instead choosing to look for his next target. His eyepiece did much of the work, singling out another of the drones rather quickly. When he tried to make his glider fire a missile, however, he was met with a blunt clicking sound and nothing else.

 

“Ugh!” he groaned in dismay. “I was afraid of this…”

 

Even though he was out of ammunition, Pierce still looked back up at the drones. He almost felt like they were laughing at him from the way they kept on circling around him, acting as if he’d done nothing to disturb them. To him, it was like watching many copies of Ghetsis’s face orbiting the city, all of them mocking his failure in the way only Team Plasma’s leader could. It cut Pierce to the bone, the feeling of utter failure.

 

“I’m sorry…” he muttered, clenching his fists and closing his eyes in shame after looking to the Prophet again. “I thought we could destroy Ghetsis if we teamed up, and then everything could go back to normal…”

 

A series of several explosions suddenly filled the air around Pierce, startling him to the point that he briefly lost his stability on his glider. He inhaled sharply and searched to identify the source of the blasts, fearing an attack was coming, but what he discovered left him stunned.

 

Colress’s drones were falling from the sky again, but not one at a time and not due to any action Pierce had taken. Several - four or five, by the rough estimate Pierce was able to quickly calculate - had been destroyed. As he watched them fall to the earth with his mouth hanging open, he suddenly felt the sensation of something licking the back of his head. Startled, he pivoted his glider around as quickly as he could, only to be met by a widely-smiling purple cloud with two disembodied hands.

 

“A Haunter…?” Seeing the creature confused him, but when Haunter was joined by several other Pokémon - a Shuppet and a Yamask, along with a pair of Pokémon that resembled ghosts possessing a small tree stump and a black lantern, respectively - Pierce understood. “All these Ghost-type Pokémon could only have come from one man… he sent you to get rid of the barrier too?”

 

The five Pokémon all responded with affirmative cries, then set about resuming their destruction of the drones. Watching them, Pierce pondered the meaning of their sudden appearance.

 

 _“I wonder… is this just about getting the civilians out, or is there something more?”_ he wordlessly questioned.

 

-:-

 

Liar.

 

Cheater.

 

Crook.

 

For the members of Kate and Bunny’s combined groups, those were some of the nicer words being directed at them from the crowd. They’d succeeded in forcing the riots to the water’s edge and were containing them with their Pokémon acting as a barricade, but they now faced the barely-contained rage still burning within the mass of people.

 

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they’re pissed at us…” Bunny dryly said out loud. She wasn’t directing her comment at any of her companions in particular, instead, her gaze was tracing along her Gogoat’s vines. The Grass-type Pokémon had joined with Mako’s Tentacruel to his left and Nando’s Leavanny to his right, using said vines to connect to his partners’ arms and cordon off the angry throng. Kate’s Blastoise and Trista’s Gardevoir stood in the spaces between each of them, while Silver’s Gyarados towered over them all, scowling because of Falkner’s Skarmory perching on his head.

 

“It’ll play well when I get this footage back to ONBS, that’s for sure,” Rowena remarked.

 

Pulling her eyes away from the Pokémon and the protesters, Bunny caught sight of Rowena still single-mindedly continuing with her filming. She asked the reporter, “Aren’t you more concerned about your own safety right now?”

 

“That’s what I’ve got Cinccino for,” Rowena replied, earning a happy squeak from the Pokémon on her shoulder. “Besides, the public has to see what this is really like. Not just in Kanto or Johto, but everywhere.”

 

Before Bunny could further disagree, Kate looked over her shoulder and chimed in, “You know, Bunny, she’s got a point. When you see something that gets your blood pumping, you respond more and pay more attention.”

 

Sighing, Bunny was again about to speak, but as she turned around, she was interrupted by Falkner. The Violet Gym Leader urgently shouted, “Skarmory, Rock Tomb!”

 

Falkner’s Skarmory spread his wings in a single sharp motion, forming a cluster of stones and throwing them forward. Bunny caught sight of a blur from the corner of her eye sailing through the air towards her; she barely had time to mentally register that it was a bottle before the rocks crushed the glass object into the ground.

 

“Bunny, you’ve got to pay more attention!” Falkner warned her. “You can’t think that they’re only going to throw words!”

 

“Don’t you think I’m trying?” Bunny snapped back, grinding her foot into the ground to exert her frustration. “I’m not used to doing this!”

 

“Bunny, please, try to be calm…” Nando gently urged her.

 

 _“Be calm? How can YOU be so calm all the time?!”_ she thought. She badly wanted to ask him it to his face, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that infighting amongst their team was the last thing they needed.

 

An explosion above the group’s heads defused the budding tensions between them before things could get too out of hand. Looking up at the source of the sudden, convenient distraction, they could see a burning object falling from the sky a short distance away. All around them, the red light of Ghetsis’s barrier flickered, becoming visible for a few seconds at a time before disappearing and promptly reappearing. The drones that were still active had stalled in midair.

 

“I wonder what’s up with that,” Mako wondered.

 

Trista stepped up alongside the older woman and added, “Sure isn’t any of us.”

 

“You can thank me.”

 

The sound of Morty’s voice approaching from behind brought the team a much-needed sense of relief. As the blonde-haired Ghost-type Gym Leader arrived alongside his Gengar, an assortment of smiles greeted them.

 

“I’ll thank you up front,” Kate said to him, a wry grin on her aged face, “even if I want a full explanation.”

 

“Remember what our friend Ghetsis said? That barrier keeps us _in_ and everyone else _out_. Obviously, not everyone who’s in Ecruteak right now is interested in burning it to the ground. They would like to leave. Let me pose a question, though… what if somebody wanted to get in here _from outside_?”

 

“Forgive my disrespect,” Bunny loudly interjected, “but we really don’t have time for questions! I’m glad you made somehow made it out of the Gym, but…”

 

“Yes, you’re right,” Morty replied while raising his hand slightly. His calm demeanor remained nearly entirely intact despite the situation. “Forgive me. While Gengar’s here, all my other Pokémon are working on systematically destroying those drones so we can take down the barrier.” Gesturing to the open air around himself, Morty continued, “Letting the peaceful people of Ecruteak out isn’t the only reason why. You see, some of the other Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains are on their way to help us.”

 

“Are you serious?” Falkner exclaimed. “How do you know? Why weren’t Kate and I told?”

 

“I only just found out myself,” Morty answered, shrugging. “Tobias contacted me to let me know the arrangements he and Anabel put together.”

 

“The governor himself told you…” Bunny uttered in surprise.

 

With the matter of the exploding drones, Bunny, Kate and all the others had become distracted and stopped focusing on the mass of rioters in front of them. Many in that crowd had also heard the noises and shifted their attention, but it wasn’t long before one of them glanced back over to the group keeping them confined.

 

“That Gengar!” one of them exclaimed. Their outburst quickly spread through the crowd, drawing the attention of most of the others back to Bunny and Kate’s team - particularly Morty.

 

“Look, it’s Morty!” another angrily shouted.

 

“Two Gym Leaders and a Frontier Brain all working together! It’s just like Ghetsis said!” yelled a third.

 

Still another took a step forward, advancing slightly from the rest of the roiling crowd. “They’ll try to control us, but they won’t!”

 

One thrown rock quickly turned into many as the crowd’s anger finally boiled over. Bunny and the others were so distracted by avoiding being hit that they didn’t notice the throng of furious people was advancing on them. Seeing this was all Silver’s Gyarados needed in order to act. A charge of electrical energy swiftly gathered in the horns above his eyes, and within seconds he struck the ground in front of the rioters with a multi-pronged Thunderbolt. They were only repelled for a brief time, though, and were soon moving toward Bunny and the others again.

 

“I’ve had just about enough of this,” Bunny growled to herself, barely able to hear her own voice over the insults flowing from the crowd. “Tanya, you do your thing!”

 

Tanya the Heatran stomped forward, moving into the space freed up by Bunny’s stepping aside. She widely opened her vast mouth, allowing great amounts of silvery light to flow into it. Just as that light became blinding, Tanya released the Flash Cannon, shooting a bright beam just over the vine connecting Gogoat and Leavanny. It exploded brilliantly upon striking the ground, pushing the rioters back further.

 

“Whose Heatran is that?” Kate asked Bunny, looking back over her shoulder.

 

“Matt’s, believe it or not.” Bunny couldn’t help but chuckle lightly when she imagined the odd image of Matt and Tanya side-by-side.

 

“If he used it at the Battle Hall he might have reached me,” Kate told her. “Oh well, what’s done is done.”

 

Both Bunny and Kate had started to relax, even slightly, but that didn’t last long. The sound of yet another explosion reached the group’s ears, much nearer than the others.

 

Avril quickly stepped up next to Bunny and asked her, “Did you see where that came from?”

 

“No, but…”

 

Bunny’s search for the source was brought to a swift end by yet another explosion, this one even closer still. Its source was visible, not like the last one - in fact, the drone that exploded was almost directly above the rioters.

 

They had already started to move away from the deafening sound, but the crowd had not gotten far before the drone crashed to the ground. The flames consuming the machine began to spread outward; within seconds, the previously aggressive throng of protesters had descended into panic. They charged forward to escape the escalating fire, unconcerned about the powerful Pokémon facing them down.

 

“They’re going to trample us!” Avril screamed.

 

“Gyarados, come down here and shield us!” Silver yelled up to his Pokémon. “Hurry!”

 

Hearing the urgency in Silver’s voice only reinforced what Gyarados already knew from the mass of people approaching them. Well aware that he was the only one out who could provide the necessary sort of protection, Gyarados lowered his huge, serpentine body to form a wall around the humans.

 

Meanwhile, Mako’s Tentacruel yanked on the vine that connected him to Gogoat and Leavanny with several of his tentacles. Gogoat stumbled toward Tentacruel, dragging Leavanny behind him. Both of them cringed behind Tentacruel, seeing that the crowd was nearly on top of them, but the trampling they feared never came. To their great relief, the rioters were charging all around them, kept away by the green light of Tentacruel’s Protect.

 

The chaos spreading on the ground left Bunny, Kate and the others completely unaware of what was happening above them. What remained of the drone fleet were no longer circling the city. They were locked in place, shaking as the barrier cracked around them.

 

-:-

 

“Oh, yes, this is just perfect!”

 

It was lucky that Colress was the only one inside the cockpit of the airship while he observed the combat consuming the city. Not for him, he wouldn’t have cared if he had an audience for his excitement over the data he was gaining, but for that audience itself. Calling it uncomfortable would only begin to describe their experience.

 

That joy met an abrupt end when an alarm sounded through the chamber. A swift working of his keyboard brought up a window with the source - a diagram of the drones remaining above Ecruteak City. More than half of them were already gone, and loud beeps accompanied the ones that followed. Not only that, the red line encircling them was blinking on and off at a rapid pace. It continued to do so for a short time before disappearing entirely along with the remaining drones.

 

“Impossible!” he spat, lunging forward in his seat. His expression turned nearly instantly, with his eyes widening in horror behind his visor. The now-empty diagram vanished after he typed a short command, which replaced it with the communication window he’d used to contact Ghetsis earlier. “Ghetsis!” Colress yelled, dropping his usual sarcastic, casual demeanor. “We’ve got a big problem here!”

 

“Leave me alone!” Ghetsis snarled back from the other end of the transmission. “I’m busy!”

 

“The barrier is down! They destroyed my drones!”

 

-:-

 

Whatever composure Ghetsis had left him when he opened his eyes. He didn’t want to believe what Colress had said, but there was no arguing with the rapidly-dissipating red light all around him. Overcome with rage, Ghetsis smashed his cane against the floor so hard it cracked despite its sturdy construction. His burning gaze almost immediately settled on Bell Tower, where he could still see the Prophet praying with Alesia and Hoopa nearby.

 

“It’s your fault!” he screamed out, striking the ground with his cane again. “It’s all your fault! I’m through with having my work disrupted, especially by you insects! But…” A realization entered Ghetsis’s mind, making him calm down slightly. He said out loud, “I still hold the trump card, don’t I? You wouldn’t still be here if I didn’t… It’s about time I send you to the fiery death you deserve.” Thrusting his cane in the direction of the tower, he commanded, “Ho-oh, come to me! Use Sacred Fire and turn them to ash!”

 

-:-

 

The feeling of the cold air flooded into Olivia’s mind the instant she started regaining consciousness, making her violently twitch awake in Nikolai’s arms. She snapped her eyes open and took a single, gasping breath.

 

“Olivia, please try to breathe!” Nikolai urged her.

 

She didn’t say anything but implemented his advice. She thought she was still shaking at first, but realized before long that she wasn’t. It was Nikolai that was trembling out of worry for her well-being. Once he saw that her senses were returning to her, he relaxed.

 

“What… what happened?” Olivia weakly gasped.

 

“You had a seizure, from the looks of it,” Nikolai explained, his voice gentle in its tone. “Your friend is still going against those three.”

 

Nikolai pointed forward, guiding Olivia’s eyes to the direction of Monroe’s fight with the Shadow Triad. His Steelix and Greninja were still putting up resistance to the Shadow Triad’s Pokémon, but both of them were covered in visible burns and other injuries. Although she couldn’t see the sweat rolling down Monroe’s forehead, Olivia knew the same thing he did - the Shadow Triad were winning.

 

Olivia remained silent at first. Her thoughts about the situation were then supplanted by a memory she felt strangely compelled to share. Turning her head back up, she said, “Right before I blacked out, I saw something.”

 

“What?” Nikolai asked

 

“I saw…”

 

Right at that moment, Ho-oh swept over them on its way to the Bell Tower. Olivia’s face turned as white as snow when she saw it. Everything about the way Ho-oh flew past them - the timing of its movements, the loud but brief screech it let out, even the precise positioning of the clouds in the sky behind it - perfectly matched what she had seen. Her previous words died out, replaced only by her slowly pointing toward the sky.

 

“I saw Ho-oh,” she whispered, “exactly like that. Everything about it looked exactly like that.”

 

-:-

 

Ho-oh suddenly breaking off from its fight with the other Pokémon came as a great relief to them. They’d been struggling with the legendary creature for so much time that the sunlight from Kate’s Charizard’s Drought had long since disappeared. With their opponent gone for the time being, they took advantage of the chance to rest.

 

Bunny’s Xatu was the one most affected by the protracted struggle. His age, while allowing him knowledge and maturity well beyond his companions, left his body unable to keep pace with them. Hethna noticed his weakness, so the Golurk popped out its right hand to catch him. Xatu cooed a soft sound of appreciation and curled up in Hethna’s grasp.

 

The other Pokémon, meanwhile, emerged from between the tall buildings and regrouped. After that brief moment of respite, they rose from the maze of structures and saw Ho-oh heading for Bell Tower, prompting them to fly after it.

 

-:-

 

As she tried to reach Ho-oh’s heart, the Prophet visualized herself and the Pokémon in a vast, glowing blue space. She perceived a violent red aura emanating from Ho-oh, and she was surrounded herself by a green light. In the vision she took a slight step forward every time she tried to work her way deeper into Ho-oh’s mind. The red aura pushed against her like a violent wind, however, and even though it didn’t really exist she still felt it as if it did.

 

She was so focused on her Transcendence prayer that she didn’t realize the very Pokémon she was trying to save was looming in the sky over the tower. Alesia did notice, and the bright blue fire sparking to life in its beak reflected in her wide, fearful eyes.

 

“No…” she gasped. Forcing herself to move, she lunged in the Prophet’s direction. “Get down!”

 

The Prophet could barely react before she was tackled to the floor by her follower. With her prayer interrupted, she reopened her eyes. Ho-oh cast a gigantic shadow over the pair, and the Sacred Fire was erupting from its mouth as it gained power.

 

“Alesia…” the Prophet whispered, pulling her follower close to her. _“After all of this, he wins…”_

 

“Hoopa will save Shekan and Alekan!” the tiny Pokémon suddenly exclaimed, flying in front of the two. It pulled the ring off one of its horns and raised it up in Ho-oh’s direction, making the loop enlarge dramatically. “Ho-oh fire, disappear!”

 

The legendary Pokémon, driven in its madness to take Hoopa’s words as a dare, sent the massive orb of flame rocketing toward Bell Tower. Both Alesia and the Prophet shut their eyes and tightened their hold on each other to await their fiery fate, but when they heard an earsplitting explosion, they quickly realized they weren’t burning.

 

Ho-oh’s attack had been destroyed, sending both clouds of smoke and falling bits of flame all around the tower. What truly shocked both Tenganists was not that, however, but the fact that the source of the explosion was not Hoopa. Whatever had protected them from the Sacred Fire was a fair distance away from them, between Ho-oh and Bell Tower.

 

A light burst from the smoke, and once it faded, a figure began to emerge. As soon as she saw it, the Prophet could feel a new hope filling every inch of her body. Staring up at it in relief and awe, she reflexively recalled the time she first met it. That experience was something she never could forget.

 

The snow that day had instilled a death-like chill deep in her bones. Her ragged coat could do little to protect her from it, even as it clung to her swollen body. She didn’t know where she was heading, and at that time, she almost didn’t care. The idea of wishing for the white abyss to swallow her up crossed her mind, but her survival instinct kicked in, forcing her toward a cave that had entered her vision. It wasn’t any warmer inside, but the cave did provide shelter from the snow. Once inside, she sat down and curled up as much as she was physically able to. She started quietly sobbing, but stopped when she realized she wasn’t alone. When she looked up, she saw it - the same figure she was now once again beholding, both humanoid and feline.

 

 _“You will not harm these Pokémon or people any further,”_ it said once the smoke cleared further, its mental voice loud and commanding.

 

At that point, everyone within sight - the Team Rocket members fighting against Zinzolin and Archer at the foot of the tower, Zinzolin and Archer themselves, Pierce, Ghetsis and Colress in addition to the two Tenganists - all could see the figure. Its identity was clear to all of them, and they were all shocked silent by it.

 

Colress was the one to break the silence, excitedly jumping up from his chair and slamming his hand on his keyboard to open the communication link. “Jeunes’s old experiment toy! I can recreate a thousand of them but the original is something else!”

 

For once, Ghetsis was truly, deeply shocked. He was unable to do anything but stare with his mouth open for several long, tense seconds, but once he regained his composure his smug attitude returned.

 

“Well, well, well, what an unexpected guest,” he said to it in his usual smarmy voice. “To what do I owe this honor, Mewtwo? Enjoying the new voice?” Narrowing his eye, he continued, “You, the Pokémon who hates people, defending them…”

 

 _“No. I hate people… people like you,”_ Mewtwo responded, pointing squarely at Ghetsis with one of its bulbous fingers. _“After what Polaris did to me, I wandered… I had to understand the power you had given me in order to become stable. I did… and while I did, I came to realize that there are humans in the same position I have been in. These people, the Tenganists you have been hunting, took me into their home. They have protected me, and I will do the same for them.”_

 

“Even while they work with your hated enemy, Team Rocket?” Ghetsis countered. “Admit it, all humans lie!”

 

 _“All humans lie, but not all humans’ lies are equal!”_ Mewtwo roared. _“They told me of their alliances, knowing that it could cause me to leave them. I had to decide what I would do… but I came to understand that they are fighting for survival, and sometimes the lesser of two evils must be taken. Team Rocket has done unspeakable harm to me, but so has Polaris. I don’t fight for Team Rocket, I fight against whoever the greater evil is… and right now, you have the unfortunate position of being the greater evil.”_

 

Mewtwo’s formidable confidence gave Ghetsis chills, but he pushed away his nerves to maintain his own facade.

 

“I think I’ve heard quite enough of your claptrap, science experiment. You think you’re trying to intimidate someone who can’t stand up to you.” Ghetsis pointed his cane in Mewtwo’s direction, prompting Ho-oh to to face the Psychic-type Pokémon and shriek loudly. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

 

Acting on Ghetsis’s unspoken order, Ho-oh reared back and fired a Signal Beam straight at Mewtwo. Instead of trying to escape, Mewtwo spread its arms and enveloped itself in the light of Mega Evolution once more. Moments later, Mewtwo’s arm burst from the glowing shell and punched the Signal Beam, diffusing it and rendering it harmless. The rest of Mewtwo’s body emerged shortly afterward, but what greeted Ghetsis and Colress was not what they expected.

 

Mewtwo had grown significantly taller and more muscular, with the majority of the bulk added to its arms and legs. Its tail was shorter than before, and its ears had become more pointed.

 

 _“No,”_ it thundered, its authoritative, female-sounding voice replaced by a deep male voice that only made Ghetsis and Colress look at it with even more shock. _“That’s where YOU’RE wrong.”_

 

“That form… it’s not…” Ghetsis was speechless, a rare occurrence for him. “What are you?”

 

 _“I told you I had to make myself stable by understanding what Polaris did to me. When I did I realized I could use much more power than you thought possible when you experimented on me, and with training I awakened this second form. So as I said, you are in the unfortunate position of being the greater evil. I will not hesitate to fight if I must,”_ Mewtwo warned Ghetsis. _“It is unfortunate but I will do what I must to help free Ho-oh from you. This is your last warning.”_

 

Ghetsis’s anger overcame him, leaving him completely unable to speak while he tightly clenched his teeth. _“I had everything perfectly set… everything! And then this woman shows up and everything falls apart… I’ll burn her and everyone on her side into ashes! Not even their bones will remain!”_ Slamming his cane down, Ghetsis yelled, “Ho-oh, destroy that freak, then come back here and burn Bell Tower to the ground!”

 

With that, the great phoenix was back off its leash. Mewtwo deftly floated between the bolts of lightning Ho-oh let loose, reverting to its base form as it did so. The Prophet, Alesia and Hoopa watched their ally twist through the air from the tower’s roof, the two humans still somewhat dazed by how quickly events had developed.

 

“That’s a surprise!” Hoopa exclaimed while returning the ring to its horn. Its typical grin sank, and it dejectedly added, “Hoopa wanted to be the hero though…”

 

“That’s okay,” Alesia said, standing back up. “Next time you can be a hero, alright?”

 

“And let’s not forget how much you did for us today already,” the Prophet reminded Hoopa. “Besides, when we go back there’s a treat waiting for you.”

 

“Hoopa wanted to be the hero now, though!” The small Pokémon’s frustration soon turned to excitement, once it realized what the Prophet had said to it. “Wait, do you mean…”

 

“Sssh,” Alesia urged, raising her finger to her lips. “You do like surprises.”

 

The Prophet couldn’t help but smile at Hoopa’s childish enthusiasm. _“Somehow, at least Hoopa’s innocence has remained intact… I wish it could stay that way,”_ she thought.

 

Looking back up, she saw Mewtwo and Ho-oh slowly moving around each other in search of the perfect position to attack. When she realized what was about to happen, she rushed to stand in the center of the circle atop the tower again.

 

“Please, Mewtwo, hold Ho-oh off long enough for this to work…” Clasping her hands together, she chanted, “Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

-:-

 

On Ecruteak City’s southern border with Route 37, the Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains summoned by Anabel and Tobias finally arrived. Lyra, the first to reach the city, stepped out in front of Bugsy, Whitney and Dahlia and put her hands behind her head.

 

“Gee, you guys sure take your sweet time getting around, don’t you?” she said to the others. Noticing Dahlia using her phone, Lyra quickly turned indignant. “Can’t you even listen to what I’m saying?”

 

“Ssh, this is important!” Dahlia snapped at her fellow Frontier Brain.

 

“Without Dahlia, I would have taken even longer getting here,” Bugsy chimed in, patting the wing of Dahlia’s Zapdos as it stood between its owner and him. “Besides, your facility’s the closest to here.”

 

Lyra was silent for a moment, then shrugged and said, “Whatever, I guess.”

 

An explosion from deep in Ecruteak City reached the group’s ears. They were unable to know its source, but it still made all four of them shiver.

 

“I don’t like the sound of that…” Whitney uttered, shifting her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

 

Lyra stretched her neck and sniffed at the air. “Smells like some real action to me.”

 

“Alright, here’s the deal,” Dahlia spoke up, bringing the attention of the other three onto herself as she put her phone away. “Kate and Falkner are holed up in the northern part of the city near the water that you cross to reach Bellchime Trail, fighting fires. Apparently, that girl Olivia split off from them with one of her friends to go battle with Ghetsis’s bodyguards.”

 

“Two fronts, four of us…” Bugsy scratched his chin as he assessed the situation. “We obviously are going to have to split up. I think Whitney and I should go help Falkner and Kate, since you and Lyra are stronger than us, Dahlia. Ghetsis’s bodyguards are probably the bigger danger here.”

 

“Makes sense to me,” Lyra agreed. She cracked her knuckles, smiled and said, “I can’t wait to go all out on them!”

 

-:-

 

“This isn’t right…” Lucky fumed, tightly clenching both her teeth and her fists. “None of this is right at all!”

 

Her Liepard, along with Dino’s Darmanitan, Druddigon and Sawsbuck, stood side by side in front of their trainers. All four were covered with burn marks and other injuries from their protracted struggle with Meowth, Swoobat, Cofagrigus, Vivillon, Inkay and Goomy. The Pokémon on Team Rocket’s side were similarly worn down, but this was exactly why Lucky was so frustrated.

 

“You’re Team Rocket, you’re the criminals…” she continued ranting. “We’re the heroes! You should be on your knees in front of us!”

 

“You really have got to start realizing that just believing in justice isn’t going to make it happen automatically,” Dino said to her with a sigh. “This has always been a hang up with you…”

 

“Shut it, I’m not listening to this from you right now! We have to take them out!”

 

On the other side of the field, Jessie put her right hand on her hip and smiled. “What’s the matter? Can’t work together like we can?”

 

“We’ve got ‘Team’ in our name for a reason, after all,” James smugly added. “That’s one thing you guys will never have.”

 

“It’s taking you more Pokémon than we’re using just to keep up with us,” Dino pointed out. “You can’t sustain this for long. Darmanitan, Druddigon, do a combined Fire Punch!”

 

The two Pokémon pushed into each other. Darmanitan ignited his right arm and Druddigon her left, coming together to create a sizable mass of fire between them.

 

“Vivillon, hit them with Powder!” Jessie called out, pointing directly at the oncoming pair.

 

A cloud of red and black dust Vivillon shed from his wings met Darmanitan and Druddigon well before they could deliver their strike. The particles exploded upon contact with the pair’s flames, consuming them in a point-blank blast. While Druddigon fell back, Darmanitan suddenly began glowing, his shape changing. His arms shrank back into his body, leaving his hands flattened against his sides, while his eyes turned white and he adopted a rigid, seated position. In addition, his color changed from its ordinary red to a shade of blue.

 

“Alright by me,” Dino said. “Buckling down into Zen Mode will let me tough this one out.”

 

Lucky’s Liepard suddenly surged past Dino’s three Pokémon and screeched loudly. All of Team Rocket’s Pokémon writhed in pain from the ear-splitting noise.

 

“It’s claws on a chalkboard without the chalkboard!” Meowth complained, holding his ears. He ran back to get Wobbuffet, who was standing behind the others, and forced the Psychic-type Pokémon forward. “Do something about this!”

 

Wobbuffet shrieked in protest, but quickly complied with Meowth’s orders and used Mirror Coat, covering himself in a metallic sheen. The sound of Liepard’s Hyper Voice caused energy to build up around him. He let several seconds pass, then unleashed the energy in a single, powerful wave directed at Druddigon. The Dragon-type Pokémon failed to notice the unexpected attack and stumbled directly into its path. She was thrown violently into Liepard, halting the Hyper Voice.

 

Lucky growled angrily, but before she could voice her ire at Dino for the collision, a loud explosion and a bright flash of light interrupted her. Shielding her eyes was a much greater priority. The blinding, sunlike radiance sustained for several seconds. When Lucky and the others sensed it finally starting to fade, they uncovered their eyes to discover Mewtwo and Ho-oh flying past.

 

“Mewtwo?!” James shouted out in shock. “What’s it doing here?”

 

Meowth climbed up on Wobbuffet’s head to get a better view of what was happening. “And going at it with that giant turkey?”

 

If Mewtwo had taken notice of the Team Rocket agents on the ground below, it paid no attention to them. Its focus fixated squarely on Ho-oh, who was in the midst of preparing its Sacred Fire. With a screech and a swift beat of its wings, Ho-oh sent the fireball at Mewtwo, who quickly flew upwards to avoid it. After sailing beneath Mewtwo it continued on and crashed down on the streets below. The resulting explosion tore into the pavement and sent several cars tumbling over themselves until they came to rest against buildings, as well as snapping street lamps and shattering windows. It was also not far from the burning Pokémon Center, where a fairly large riot was present until the blast sent them scattering.

 

 _“Ho-oh, you must return to your senses!”_ Mewtwo declared with a sweeping gesture.

 

Those words failed to reach Ho-oh, who responded with a loud, screeching cry. Despite its sincerity, Mewtwo found itself unsurprised at their lack of effect.

 

_“I see. You are so far gone under his control that you cannot even remember who you are anymore. In that case, I will do what I must.”_

 

Resigning itself to the demands of the situation, Mewtwo spread its arms and once again became enveloped in a shell of light. What emerged, however, was not the Mega Evolution that it had used earlier. Instead of growing in size, Mewtwo had become smaller and more streamlined. Its tail was gone, replaced by a similar growth trailing from the back of its head, while its ears were now linked by a thin ring.

 

Within mere seconds of Mewtwo completing its Mega Evolution, Ho-oh fired a rainbow-colored Signal Beam at it. Mewtwo seemingly disappeared nearly instantly and materialized again some distance away, allowing the attack to sail harmlessly off into the sky. In this fashion, Mewtwo dodged several more Signal Beams. The final time it reappeared, a sparking orb of electricity was in its smooth, rounded hand.

 

 _“Ho-oh, I pity you,”_ Mewtwo said, narrowing its now-red eyes.

 

With a single swift motion, Mewtwo threw its Electro Ball at Ho-oh. The sphere struck its target squarely in the breast, forcing a powerful shock through its body. Ho-oh squawked in pain and anger, convulsing until the shock passed. Once it had recovered, it saw Mewtwo flying toward the urban half of Ecruteak City at a slow enough speed that it remained visible. Shrieking in rage, Ho-oh gave chase.

 

_“Yes, follow me. Follow me into a place where I can hide.”_

 

Mewtwo slowed down even more once it was in the midst of the tall buildings and turned around to watch Ho-oh approach. It was greeted by a Weather Ball being spat in its direction, which it again avoided with its immensely heightened speed.

 

Shrilly crowing once more in another attempt to intimidate Mewtwo, Ho-oh flew narrowly between the buildings and continued pursuing it. Mewtwo was more than happy to continue leading it on, only moving fast enough to stay out of Ho-oh’s reach. This only further enraged the Fire-and-Flying Pokémon, causing it to respond with an onslaught of lightning bolts. Mewtwo deftly flew between each fork of the Thunder barrage, paying little mind to the glass raining down from the windows Ho-oh was shattering.

 

As the Thunder abated, Mewtwo abruptly vanished again. Left unable to see its prey, Ho-oh screeched and randomly launched a Sacred Fire, which tore through several buildings and left a trail of fire on them. Mewtwo suddenly surged from between two buildings with water all around its body, colliding with Ho-oh at a ninety-degree angle. Despite being significantly affected by the Dive, Ho-oh swiftly reacted, detonating a half-formed Sacred Fire at nearly point-blank range that sent Mewtwo crashing to the street below.

 

A number of civilians fled from near the battle as Mewtwo slowly rose from the break in the pavement. _“I must be careful, this form leaves me vulnerable physically…”_ it thought. Taking notice of the people running away from it, Mewtwo watched them for a brief time, then shook its head and turned its attention back to Ho-oh.

 

The great phoenix was taking its time in looming over the road, intending to savor claiming its prey. It drew in a deep, heavy breath, pulling in heat that it used to begin forming yet another Sacred Fire. Mewtwo responded by lifting two nearby cars using its psychic powers and throwing them at Ho-oh, forcing it to use up its fireball to destroy them. This only succeeded in buying time, however, as Ho-oh was preparing still another Sacred Fire almost immediately.

 

Mewtwo bitterly tensed its muscles and started forming an Electro Ball as a counterattack. Before the two legendary Pokémon could clash, though, multiple attacks ambushed Ho-oh from behind, stunning it. Sally, Hethna, Xatu, Sky, Charizard, Cupid, Pidgeot and Dragonite emerged, having followed the pair as they fought.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hethna landed on a nearby building, set Xatu down and pointed both its arms in Ho-oh’s direction. Cupid and Sky flew alongside it, and the Togekiss and Drifblim were soon joined by the others. Together, seven of the Pokémon unleashed Hydro Pump, Shadow Punch, Psychic, Thunderbolt, Heat Wave, Air Slash and Draco Meteor, while Falkner’s Pidgeot used Mirror Move to produce a Hydro Pump of her own.

 

Ho-oh screamed beneath the onslaught, the combined force of the attacks pushing it downward and restraining its movement. On the street below, Mewtwo smiled at the Pokémon fearlessly assisting it.

 

_“None of you know me, yet you help me… thank you.”_

 

Mewtwo crouched slightly and began building up psychic power in its body, which it used to rocket up toward Ho-oh. It forced its hand into the base of Ho-oh’s neck and charged electricity through its fingers, forcing the Fire-and-Flying-type to violently convulse even with the multitude of attacks striking it from behind.

 

 _“Ho-oh, remember who you are!”_ Mewtwo telepathically yelled.

 

-:-

 

The Prophet was so focused in her prayer that sweat was rolling down her face. In her vision, Ho-oh was tantalizingly close, yet every step forward she took was more difficult than the last. It felt as if the red light still flooding from every inch of the Pokémon was burning her skin off, but she refused to give up. Ho-oh was just a little over an arm’s length away.

 

_“Just… a little… more…”_

 

Right as she finally thought she would be able to move forward, the force pushing her back abruptly and significantly weakened. So much so, in fact, that she nearly fell right into Ho-oh. She managed to stay on her feet, however, and paused to look up at the Pokémon as it writhed around.

 

“Ho-oh, you’re in so much pain… I can feel all of it. I know some of that is because Mewtwo had to fight you... blame me for it. Blame me for everything that’s happened… but please, hear my words and be free of Ghetsis’s control!”

 

With that, the Prophet took one more step forward and put her hand firmly against Ho-oh’s body. In an instant a bright, blinding light and powerful wind tore from where they met, forcing her to close her eyes and steel herself much more firmly than she had at any point prior. Despite that, she knew that she’d accomplished her goal and gotten through, so she held her ground until both the light and wind faded away.

 

When the Prophet opened her eyes again, she and Ho-oh were together in the vast blue glow of her vision, both of them calm and still. The great phoenix peered down at her with peace in its tired eyes for the first time, and breathed a tiny flicker of flame as it voiced its gratitude.

 

“You’re free now, Ho-oh. Go and have your rest. Be at peace away from who has hurt you.”

 

-:-

 

On the roof of Colress’s airship, Ghetsis doubled over the guardrail, clutching his head.

 

“How could you…” he growled as a slight trickle of blood started to run from beneath his eyepiece. He lifted his head just in time to see Ho-oh flying past, on its way back into the clouds. “Damn it all… to overpower my will... you freaks are not human, not one of you…”

 

Hearing a faint noise behind him, Ghetsis forced himself to turn around. During his clash with the Prophet, Ghetsis had completely stopped paying attention to Matt, allowing him time to recover. He was shambling toward Nekou, who was still crumpled in a heap on the floor even further back.

 

Even though he was so weak he had to put nearly all his weight on his cane, Ghetsis’s rage peaked all over again. “And neither are you two!” he screamed before turning to Aegislash, the only of his Pokémon he kept out. “Aegislash, Shock Wave!”

 

The spike atop Aegislash’s body sparked to life with blue electricity. She spun from behind her shield to take on her Blade Forme, then blasted Matt with the energy. Grinding noises came from his arms and leg as he fell back down.

 

“Nekou, help me…” he uttered in desperation, continuing to struggle toward her still form. He didn’t know what else he could do. “Please, do something…”

 

Matt had no chance of seeing Aegislash preparing to electrocute him again. While he screamed in pain from it, Ghetsis stomped up behind him, having recovered enough strength to move.

 

“You brought her here!” the Team Plasma leader thundered. “I looked all over for her after she outlived her use! She should have been dead by my hand, yet she evaded me at every turn! Now I see… I should have been watching you. I understand now why Finansielle has such an interest in you. You’re like a Feebas, foul and disgusting and yet you just keep going!”

 

“What the fuck are you talking about…” Matt asked between spasms brought on by the electricity.

 

“She was following you around all this time, I’m sure of it…” Ghetsis continued rambling. “I’ve had enough, I’ve had enough of all of this… I already killed your freak of a girlfriend, now I’ll kill you, and then I’ll kill every single Tenganist that’s left! Aegislash, Shock Wave him again!”

 

Since Ghetsis had verbally ordered Aegislash to attack, Matt knew it was coming. With what strength he had left he cringed, but the shock he expected never came. Confused, he rolled over and gasped at what he saw.

 

Nekou, having somehow gotten up and in the way so quickly he didn’t notice, was blocking Aegislash’s attack. He could clearly see that she hadn’t healed from the chain of injuries the Shadow Triad inflicted on her, and her condition in fact had arguably gotten worse. Her stance was uneven, owing to the fact that her right leg was back to its normal length, and while it was still elongated her spine was bent slightly to the right beginning where Ghetsis’s Metagross had crushed her. Her left arm, meanwhile, was rigidly stuck pointing upwards from the shoulder but dangling at the elbow.

 

“How are you still alive?!” Ghetsis roared. “Fine, it doesn’t matter! Aegislash, stop using Shock Wave and just hit her with Head Sma-”

 

“Oh, Mister Ghetsis!”

 

The projection screen of Colress’s face appeared promptly after his interruption, just in time for Ghetsis to pivot to the scientist.

 

“Colress, what do you want now?!”

 

Colress responded with one of the sarcastic, condescending smiles he was notorious for. “I’m sure you’re having a grand old time, Mister Ghetsis, but our dear Finansielle is calling time on our little game now that you lost Ho-oh. She wants us back at the temple.”

 

“How does she even know about that already?” Ghetsis angrily wondered. “That doesn’t matter. I can still turn this aro-”

 

“No, Finansielle is quite sure you’re finished here,” Colress replied, his manner turning serious. “You know how she is. I wouldn’t question her, she’s quite the visionary. Make it quick, I need some time to launch our escape pod. After all, we don’t want anyone following us and this whole ship can’t cloak.”

 

Ghetsis clenched his teeth. _“I keep losing to kids and to these inhuman pieces of trash… They’re all below me! I don’t care anymore, I’ll just leverage what I did accomplish. Without its leader Polaris is still mine for the taking!”_ Unable to just leave, Ghetsis turned back to Matt and Nekou one last time and pointed his cane at them. “Matt Chiaki, Nekou Lalume, you two listen and listen well. I won’t forget what you two helped do here today. From this day forward, you are on my list of mortal enemies. For every single one of the few days you have left to live, look over your shoulders wondering when your judgment will come. Enjoy your time while you still have it!”

 

Matt certainly had no strength left to give chase, and Nekou’s mental state kept her rooted to the spot, so when Ghetsis recalled his Pokémon and fled to a nearby lift he had nothing to hinder him. Before they knew it, he was gone.

 

With Ghetsis out of sight, Matt’s attention shifted to Nekou. He reached up toward her, his metal arm shaking, and weakly said, “Nekou, it’s over, I think…”

 

She didn’t respond at first, but eventually, Nekou slowly turned around. Matt sharply breathed in and pushed himself back when he saw her face.

 

Her expression was completely blank, making it look as if her body was just a puppet being controlled by some other entity, and her eyes were fading between their usual brown color and the yellow glow symbolizing her powers.

 

“Nekou, what’s wrong…?”

 

-:-

 

“Oh yes, oh yes, Typhlosion! Keep going with Eruption! Azumarill, Aqua Jet!”

 

Monroe’s battered Greninja and Steelix, freed from their struggle by Lyra and Dahlia’s interference, hung back with their trainer as the two Frontier Brains engaged the Shadow Triad. Though appreciative of the help, all three of them could only stare awkwardly at Lyra over her excitement.

 

Olivia, having joined them, smugly crossed her arms and remarked, “I’ve seen this whole thing before. She’s like this a lot.”

 

“I think her Pokémon are on the exact same page,” Nikolai blandly added, watching from even further back.

 

The three ninjas stood and ground their feet into the dirt, frustrated by what they were watching. Pestilence’s Chesnaught struggled against the rain of fiery stones Typhlosion dropped on him by covering himself with his Spiky Shield. At the same time Chaos’s Delphox spun back and forth, trying to keep up with Azumarill as the Water-type weaved in close to strike.

 

Seeing an opening in the exchange for his Pokémon to attack, Darkness immediately took action. “Greninja, Smack Down!”

 

Looking past the pair harassing his teammates, the black Greninja set his sights on Dahlia’s Zapdos, who was hanging back. He gathered a cluster of rocks and threw them at the Electric-and-Flying-type.

 

“Get away from it and use Thunderbolt!” Dahlia reflexively commanded.

 

The stones sailed harmlessly under Zapdos’s talons as it beat its wings and rose into the air. Once it reached a sufficient height, it released a blast of electricity so quickly that Greninja couldn’t begin to react to it. Even though his Protean had shifted him to the Rock-type and thus removed his weakness to electricity, Greninja wailed in pain from the unrestrained force of the shock.

 

“Darling, did you really think you would put one over on the Arcade Star?”

 

Being talked down to filled Darkness’s mind with so much rage that his judgment became clouded, making him consider ordering Greninja into another direct confrontation with Zapdos. The conflict was suddenly interrupted when seven of Colress’s Reuniclus floated over, however, and seeing them made the Shadow Triad understand what was going on.

 

“If they’re here that means we’re done in this city,” Darkness said to his brothers while recalling his Greninja. “Let’s go.”

 

 _“I hope this means we won…”_ Chaos thought.

 

Once Chesnaught and Delphox had been recalled by their masters, the three ninjas went directly to three of the Reuniclus. Using their powers, the Psychic-type Pokémon lifted the Shadow Triad into the air.

 

“You think we’re going to let you get away?” Lyra yelled at them.

 

“I don’t think,” Darkness swiftly retorted, “I know.”

 

A pained scream from behind them made the two Frontier Brains whip around. The other four Reuniclus were clustered around Nikolai, restraining him by forcibly stretching his limbs with their powers.

 

“Nikolai!” Olivia cried out. She started to run toward him, prompting one of the Reuniclus to break away and direct a Shadow Ball at her to throw her to the ground.

 

“Ah, ah, ah,” Darkness scolded her while shaking his head and waving his finger, “you don’t want to do that. Wouldn’t it just be a shame if your friend got hurt even more just because you tried to be a hero? You’re not your father, kid.”

 

 _“You’re not your father, kid.”_ The words repeated in Olivia’s mind again and again, louder each time, making her dig her fingernails into the dirt.

 

“That goes for you Frontier Brains, too,” the Shadow Triad leader warned.

 

“I don’t take orders from ugly nerds like you,” Lyra retorted. “Azumarill, Typhlosion, we can take these things.”

 

“No, don’t!”

 

Ignoring Nikolai’s plea, Lyra pointed to the sky and began to say, “Typhlosion, Shadow Claw! Azumarill, Aqua-”

 

“Have it your way.” Darkness snapped his fingers, and the four Reuniclus joined hands to form a circle around their captive. The instant they made contact with each other, the force holding Nikolai multiplied, making him scream out even louder.

 

“Stop it!” Dahlia demanded.

 

Darkness barely managed to stifle a laugh. “You’re in no position to be making demands right now, Arcade Star, but I am. You stop giving us trouble or I make his situation worse. Lord Ghetsis only wants him alive, nothing’s stopping me from twisting an arm or a leg on the way. Don’t test me.”

 

“Let them go…” Nikolai groaned, bringing four pairs of shocked eyes squarely onto himself. “He’s serious… I can’t figure out who they are or what this Lord Ghetsis wants with me, but… I can tell he’s serious and you cannot do anything to stop him.”

 

“What kind of a friend would I be if I let them take you?” Olivia snapped, pounding her first into the dirt.

 

“Friend?” Nikolai said in surprise. “We barely know each other… and besides, I only feel like I’m friends with Pokémon…”

 

“Stop talking like that!” This time, Olivia drove both her fists into the ground. “It doesn’t even matter anymore! You’re nice to me and that’s all that matters. I don’t want any more people to get hurt…”

 

“You mean like that freak with the black hair and the knives?” Pestilence interjected. “You know, the one my Doublade and I sliced up?”

 

Olivia froze, then slowly twisted her head until she could see over her shoulder. Her eyes were as large as they had ever been. “What… did you… just say?”

 

“Come on, we can’t stay any longer,” Darkness said to Pestilence and Chaos. “I don’t think we’re going to have any more trouble.”

 

Olivia and the others could do nothing but watch as the three ninjas and their prisoner were swept away by the Reuniclus. She helplessly grit her teeth, but when she caught Nikolai’s last glance at her, she deeply inhaled. Even though it was brief and from a fair distance, she somehow picked up exactly what it meant.

 

_“I don’t know how, but… somehow, I’ll try to save you…”_

 

-:-

 

The Shadow Triad were not the only ones using Colress’s Reuniclus to escape Ecruteak City. Elsewhere, two more of them had gone to collect Dino and Lucky.

 

As she was being carried away, Lucky clutched onto the Psychic-type’s gelatinous body and sneered down at Jessie, James, Meowth and their Pokémon. “This isn’t right…” she said to herself. “None of this is right! We’re admitting defeat when we should have victory!”

 

“Sometimes you have to live to fight another day,” Dino said to her. “Besides, who knows? Maybe this wasn’t a complete loss.”

 

“It’s a loss if we didn’t win,” she bitterly mumbled into her Reuniclus, “and that’s that.”

 

That attitude was not shared by Jessie, James and Meowth, who laughed and waved after their departing enemies.

 

“Yeah, you run!” James shouted at them.

 

“You call yourself Lucky but today we’re the lucky ones!” Jessie added.

 

“That’s right!” Meowth finished.

 

-:-

 

At the foot of Bell Tower, Archer was making a hasty exit of his own. After helping to fight Proton, Petrel, Ada and Trevor’s Pokémon to a standstill, he had called his Sudowoodo back to its Poké Ball and promptly replaced the Rock-type with a Crobat. She lifted him into the air to facilitate his escape.

 

“This reunion was a blast,” Archer called down to his former allies, “but I’m taking my leave now. I’ll see you again soon! _Really_ soon…”

 

The four Team Rocket members who fought Archer just watched as he flew off on his Crobat, their rage at his treachery burning silently just below the surface. They paid no mind to Zinzolin, who had recalled his own Pokémon and was muttering to himself.

 

“They’re pulling out too quickly…” the elderly man noted. “Something went wrong. Ghetsis lost Ho-oh, but he wouldn’t have called a retreat so immediately… they must know something…”

 

Zinzolin reached to his chest and put his hand over the Team Plasma symbol on the front of his coat. In spite of the cold winter air, sweat was rolling down his face. He finally turned and ran into the woods as quickly as his aged body could carry him, soon completely disappearing from sight. Team Rocket still paid no attention to him.

 

“Archer wouldn’t be going anywhere if I was able to help,” Ariana said, her voice strained and raspy. She was leaning slightly forward, clutching her stomach. “We should still…”

 

“We have to retreat ourselves,” Rosalie intervened, stretching from her wheelchair to clutch Ariana’s hand. “ _None_ of us are in any state to keep going like this. Retreat and regroup, that’s what I think.”

 

Ariana stopped and thought about Rosalie’s advice. “You’re right… I’ll give the order.”

 

-:-

 

When Mewtwo caught sight of Colress’s spherical escape pod separating from the airship, an electric feeling ran through its muscles.

 

This was its chance. It had conversed with the Prophet at great length about revenge on Ghetsis, and Mewtwo knew that chance was now right in front of it. Halting its flight, it fixed its sight on the pod and allowed an Electro Ball to spark to life in its hand.

 

 _“It’s been so long…”_ Mewtwo thought to itself, _“but your time is up, Ghetsis. This is what you deserve!”_

 

With a snarl, Mewtwo flung the sparking orb at the pod. Before it connected, though, its target began to fade from view while the sound of its engines roared. Mewtwo’s Electro Ball shot past where the pod had just been and flew off into the sky.

 

Seeing its attack fail angered Mewtwo, though not as much as the fact that its chance to exact revenge on Ghetsis had vanished. Rising toward the last place it had seen the craft, Mewtwo made another Electro Ball take shape between its twitching fingers, threw it randomly, then spun around with a third at the ready. Mewtwo hesitated, however, when it saw Alesia guiding Nekou and Matt through one of Hoopa’s rings on top of the ship.

 

While waiting for them to leave the area, Mewtwo neutralized its own Electro Ball and transformed into its streamlined Mega Evolution. Alesia and the others were gone by the time it emerged from the cocoon of light, so Mewtwo took a deep breath and shot like a bullet into the ship.

 

Seconds later, the craft was torn asunder, eviscerated from within by an explosion of blue light created by Mewtwo’s Psystrike. Twisted pieces of scorched metal rained down, and Mewtwo emerged from the center, as if what was once the ship had become a blooming, iron flower.

 

-:-

 

As they emerged from Hoopa’s ring outside Ecruteak City, Nekou shambled behind the others. She could barely even recognize her surroundings. The pain shooting through her violently twitching body clouded her mind too much.

 

 _“The pain is back…”_ she thought, hearing a loud crack come from her leg. _“It hurts! Make it stop!!”_

 

 _“If you keep fighting me, you will keep suffering.”_ A crack and accompanying spasm from her spine shifting kept Nekou’s actual personality alert, irritating her other self even further. _“Stop it! Stop misbehaving! You know what you need to make this stop! We’ve been over this!”_

 

_“Fuck that! You aren’t doing anything for me right now!”_

 

_“It’s because you keep resisting me! Give yourself up to me completely! You have to do that, and you never have!”_

 

_“Fuck you!”_

 

Bones throughout Nekou’s body kept cracking and popping as the influence of her other self wore down, forcing her to stumble several more steps forward. The agony of this, combined with the struggle between her two personalities playing out in her head, proved too much for her mind to handle. As her vision clouded, she could see Matt, Alesia and Hoopa all staring at her. Her head fell back, and when she opened her mouth to try to breathe, all she produced was a sickly gurgling noise.

 

Her world then went completely black.

 

-:-

 

With their titanic struggle over, Sally, Hethna and the other Pokémon that fought Ho-oh found themselves in the inescapable clutches of another enemy - extreme exhaustion. They’d been able to push themselves far past their ordinary limits, but the adrenaline wearing off left all of them barely able to move. Luckily for them, plenty of buildings on Ecruteak City’s urban side survived the destruction, allowing them more than enough space to land and rest.

 

None of them had recovered much strength, but they were able to observe the destruction the battle had caused. Their collective attention was drawn away from the damaged structures around them by the bright, golden light of three rings opening up in the air nearby.

 

-:-

 

Up in the sky above Ecruteak, Jessie, James and Meowth’s balloon steadily left the city behind. The three Team Rocket agents clustered around a holographic screen projected from the craft’s control console, on which Rosalie’s face was displayed.

 

“Head back to Olivine,” the scientist instructed them between puffs on her pipe. “Operation Atlas went completely sideways.”

 

“That’s an understatement…” Proton could be heard commenting from outside the display.

 

“We need to regroup with what we’ve got left,” Rosalie continued. “Polaris won this round but we can’t let them walk away with the war. Get to Olivine immediately.”

 

With that, the projection disappeared, ending the transmission.

 

“Looks to me like we’ve got another big job coming,” Jessie said to James and Meowth. “We won when it came to our part, so the boss will reward us!”

 

James crossed his arms, shut his eyes and frowned. “But did you catch what else she said?”

 

“What’re you getting at, James?” Meowth sharply asked.

 

“Well, Rosalie said that Polaris won this round, so what happened outside of what we did?”

 

Jessie’s smile slowly faded as the reality of what James was saying fully sank in. “Come to think of it, why didn’t the boss contact us himself? Why’d Rosalie do it?”

 

“Well we ain’t gonna find any answers standing around here!” Meowth declared. He jumped onto the control panel and grabbed the steering stick. “Set sail for Olivine City!”

 

-:-

 

A gentle snowfall touched the Sinjoh Ruins’ wintry wasteland of snow-capped cliffs and plateaus. To an observer unaware of the area’s ongoing painful history, it would have been a peaceful sight, closed off to the chaos in the outside world.

 

The landscape was beginning to sink into the darkness of late afternoon until Hoopa’s three rings opened, casting golden light over it. Pierce and Alesia were the first to emerge, working together to help Anthea and Concordia through. The Prophet and Hoopa came next, but Kristos and Lotus quickly caught up.

 

“There’s something we’ve been meaning to ask you,” Kristos said to her.

 

“Please be quick,” the Prophet replied.

 

“Well… the TLF’s efforts would be stronger if we had more members, right?” Lotus ventured. “After what happened today… don’t you think it would be worth talking to Matt Chiaki and seeing if we could get his group on our side?”

 

Before Lotus was even done asking her question, the Prophet halted her advance, grinding her boot into the ground. Lotus immediately knew she’d done something wrong and shrunk back, prompting her husband to take her hands in an attempt to calm her.

 

“Consider what we’re saying,” he added to her words. “Team Rocket we already knew would help us, but Matt Chiaki was willing to stand up to Ghetsis’s face, even if he failed. If we supported him and he supported us, it only helps us.”

 

“Absolutely not,” the Prophet growled through clenched teeth. Her entire face was locked in a state of rigid tension. “All that would happen is that he’d become useless to us. We have to stay unseen. As long as he has no idea what’s really going on, he’ll be doing what we need him to be, but if he knew who I am… if he knew who I am it would completely break his spirit. He’d blame himself, shut down and never come out of it, and at that point he’d be useless.”

 

“Are you su-”

 

Lotus’s continued inquiry got cut off when the Prophet abruptly started walking forward again. The cloaked woman rejoined Hoopa, who had floated well ahead before realizing it was alone.

 

-:-

  


_“-ntinue to watch as authorities fight the fires in Ecruteak City…”_

 

Nekou snapped violently back into consciousness, and nearly instantly felt her senses under assault. Voices chattering around her, light blasting into her eyes, the sensation of multiple textures touching her flesh, the smell of the blood all over the front of her coat - all of it came together in her brain to incite an extreme urge to lash out. Terrible pain shot through her body at the slightest effort she made to move, forcing her to stay still where she was on her back.

 

As the initial shock of her awakening wore off, Nekou narrowed and then blinked her eyes. Each time she opened and closed them, her vision grew clearer. Her breathing stabilized, and she caught a familiar scent - something sweet and floral. Shifting her eyes to her side, she saw Olivia sleeping right next to her and realized it was the girl’s favorite shampoo.

 

That calmed her enough to finally glance around at where she was. Though not particularly spacious, the room was just large enough to be comfortable. She easily recognized her surroundings, from the soft couch she woke up on, to the television set into the wood-paneled wall opposite her, and everything in between.

 

“You’re finally up…”

 

Nekou couldn’t twist her neck far enough to see him, but she could tell Matt was sitting somewhere close behind her. “Of all the places I could’ve woken up, your little fucking tour bus was the last place I’d expect…” she uttered in a raspy voice.

 

“HR-E’s not a bus…” Anticipating the kind of reaction Nekou usually would have had, Matt quickly added, “It doesn’t matter. Me being able to call him anywhere he’s needed is something you appreciate right now, I bet.”

 

Ignoring Matt’s words, Nekou tried to pull herself upward, only to be stopped by an audible cracking sound from her upper back. “Shit!” she spat, falling back onto the couch. “What’s going on? I can’t… I can’t remember…”

 

“Where do I even start? After Ghetsis ran off, a girl I didn’t recognize showed up with this strange Pokémon. They took us through a ring, which I guess was a portal, and we just… ended up outside Ecruteak City somehow. They picked up Olivia, Bunny, Monroe, Avril and all the Pokémon too.”

 

“I told you, I think that Pokémon is called Hoopa.” Bunny suddenly interjected, surprising Nekou, who was completely unaware she was leaning on the wall next to the couch. “I’ve read about it before.”

 

“Another thing we should be thankful for, I guess,” Matt quietly said.

 

By that point, the conversation around her had roused Olivia from her slumber. She stretched her arms, yawned, and looked around. “What’s going on?”

 

Nekou immediately reacted upon hearing her voice. “Olivia, you’re alright?”

 

“You’re awake?” In a flash, Olivia stood up, turned around and dove onto the couch to hug Nekou. “You’re awake! You’re okay!” she cried. “I was afraid you wouldn’t ever come back!”

 

“I’m… I’m glad you were worried about me…” Nekou replied with a weak smile, “...but please, let me go and stop yelling…”

 

“I’m sorry!” Olivia blurted out as she backed off, though she quickly caught herself, lowered her voice and said, “I mean, I’m sorry. We were all just really worried about you, and I really wanted to tell you I caught that Mareep that’s been following us, and…”

 

 _“They keep worrying about me even when they know what kind of a monster I am… and I keep lying to them about everything…”_ Keeping her thoughts to herself, Nekou instead replied, “So you caught it after all… I wish my Pokémon were here.”

 

“Who said they weren’t?” Matt corrected her.

 

Upon Matt’s prompting, all of Nekou’s Pokémon emerged. Pumpkaboo and Zorua, the two youngest of them, nestled against her face. Marie, Dalian, Lenore and Edgar ringed her from the side, giving soft, reassuring nudges to their trainer. She looked down at them and embraced them as a faint, tired smile crept onto her face.

 

“You guys… I know I can always count on you…”

 

While Nekou took comfort in the presence of her Pokémon, the others’ attention was drawn by Monroe and Avril entering the HR-E from outside. When she did look over at the door, the fading sunlight she could see made her realize just how long she’d been unconscious.

 

“I just got done talking to our dad,” the middle sibling said to Matt, gesturing with his head to the phone in his hand. “He’s going to meet up with us in Olivine City so he can bring you the papers the Angel Corporation needs you to sign.”

 

“Papers?” Bunny asked.

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t mention it sooner…” Matt said. “I’ve been in contact with Gabriella for some time, and I’ve arranged to give the Angel Corporation a license to develop a functioning ALEA prototype. I can’t build a large-scale one by myself.”

 

“Drugs, banking, oil, now clean energy… they really are in everything…” the brown-haired woman mused aloud, leaning more of her weight against the wall.

 

“Wait, you guys,” Olivia interrupted, her gaze fixed on the television, “look at that.”

 

While they had been talking among themselves, the news report had continued. Tobias was on the screen, standing in an outdoor area with an unseen person holding a microphone up to his face. When Olivia’s comment drew the others’ attention to it, they all joined her in watching.

 

 _“-tuation in Ecruteak City is alarming,”_ he said to the interviewer. _“We have to ensure order to the best of our ability so all remaining threats can be dealt with. For that reason, I am announcing that Ecruteak City will be closed off until the safety of its citizens and the integrity of the investigation into this incident can be completely assured. I have already sent specialists to assist Gym Leader Morty and Frontier Brain Kate in relief efforts.”_

 

Most of the group listened intently to the broadcast, but not Nekou. All she could do was shift her eyes around, glancing at those of her friends she could see to the direction of those she could only hear. The more she took them in, and as the seconds ticked by, the more a crushing feeling of guilt settled into her.

 

_“These people… they treat me like I have a place here. I don’t deserve... they’ve seen what I am…”_

 

The sound of a fanfare from the television snapped Nekou out of her daze, finally attracting her attention to the screen. Following an animated ‘Breaking News’ graphic, the anchor returned to sight.

 

_“It’s the top of the hour and for those of you just joining us, the ongoing story continues to be what’s rocking all of the Tohjo Continent, the riots and subsequent disastrous attacks in Ecruteak City. Today, following a speech by Ghetsis Harmonia, the representative of the Polaris organization, the crowds present quickly turned violent under unclear circumstances, and shortly afterward, the legendary Pokémon Ho-oh appeared and rampaged, culminating in a catastrophic amount of destruction throughout the city. Governor Tobias has announced the closing of all routes in and out of Ecruteak City while efforts to deal with the destruction and remaining fires get underway._

 

_We’re just getting this in now, the very first reports of casualties in this disaster, coming from the Ecruteak City Pokémon Center, which was firebombed during the riots…”_

 

“Olivia, go outside. You shouldn’t hear-”

 

Matt couldn’t even finish his sentence before Olivia snapped at him, “Stop treating me like a kid!”

 

Matt froze and opened his mouth to say something, only for empty air to come instead of words. As the newscaster continued to speak, Matt realized that he genuinely didn't have any rebuttal to Olivia's outburst and shrank back into his chair.

 

_“...the process of identifying the victims is underway, and we have one name that we can report. Doctor Dante Fantomos…”_

 

The moment Dante’s name passed the anchor’s lips, all the color drained from Olivia’s face. She clenched her fists so tightly that she almost made her palms bleed.

 

“Shit,” she muttered, her jaw tightening. “I _knew_ he wasn’t out!”

 

Though they didn’t vocalize it, Bunny, Avril and Monroe - who had been with Olivia when they failed to reach the Pokémon Center in time - all had their faces sink in defeat when their worst fears were confirmed.

 

Avril slammed her fist against the wall and quietly said to herself, “Didn’t even really know the guy, but this…”

 

 _“...a statement has been provided to us by Angel Corporation president Gabriella Bouchard on his death,”_ the newscaster revealed. He was then swiftly replaced on the screen by Gabriella.

 

 _“Dante was a great guy, it’s a shame the world won’t get to see what he was working on for us,”_ she flatly said into the camera, fidgeting her hands on her desk. A backlit Angel Corporation logo on the wall behind her was partially visible, casting a strange glow around her. _“His work for the past four decades was meant to help the Angel Corporation get rid of some of the nastiest diseases you can think of. Right before he… before he bit the dust, Dante was on the edge of making the greatest discovery of modern medicine. I don’t know if anyone can duplicate his work. The way he thought… it was unlike anyone I’ve known, and I’ve lived enough years to know a lot of people. The world is a worse place now with him gone, that’s… all I can say, I guess.”_

 

“At least he’s with his daughter and wife now…” Matt uttered as his eyes sank downward.

 

Nekou, meanwhile, was still wrapped up in her thoughts. _“They’ve seen what kind of a monster I am… just having me here puts them at risk, and they don’t even fully…”_ Steeling herself mentally for what she had to do, she took a deep breath and forced herself to slowly sit up. It was agonizing, and her bones cracked with each inch she moved, yet she simply clenched her teeth and endured it. Once she was fully up, she gasped for breath and said, “We... we really should get to Olivine City. You want to find out the truth, right?”

 

“I let another friend die…” Matt mumbled to himself, his face blank. He seemingly didn’t notice Nekou’s question at first, but after a few seconds, he snapped himself out of his daze and looked directly at her. “Yeah, that is true…”

 

“And we can get to my next Gym there, too…”

 

“Olivia, wait,” Monroe interrupted. “The Olivine Gym’s not going to be open for another week.”

 

“Why?” she exclaimed, quickly turning around. “What happened to it?”

 

“The previous Gym Leader, Jasmine, she just got promoted up to the Elite Four. They haven’t officially-”

 

Avril suddenly cut her brother off, sullenly saying, “The new Gym Leader’s not opening the place up until next week, so there’s really no reason to rush there.”

 

Olivia took a moment to silently consider her rival’s odd behavior, but quickly disregarded it and turned back around. “I guess it’s a chance to get ready some more,” she said with a shrug. “Nekou, you alright with that?”

 

 _“I want to get this over with, but if we’re sitting around Olivine for a week, it’ll just be dead time for everything to stew…”_ Realizing that Olivia was staring at her, Nekou shifted herself uncomfortably. “I… I guess. We can take our time…” She then put her hand against her forehead and muttered, “I need a drink.”

 

As soon as the last syllable left her mouth, Nekou felt something land in her lap. She looked down and saw that Matt had tossed her his flask.

 

“Way ahead of you on that one,” he said, ignoring the shudder that ran through his fingers and up his arm after doing so.

 

-:-

 

“And so, as you can see, interest in our cause is already steadily increasing. That, of course, has to be attributed to my very persuasive speech.”

 

Many hours after the end of the conflict in Ecruteak City, nine out of the ten Chromosomes had assembled in the Sacred Helix’s meeting room. Ghetsis’s boasting was being met by bored expressions and slumping in chairs, but this was an audience he didn’t care about exciting.

 

“And what do you have to say about Ho-oh’s little temper tantrum?” Athleta questioned, leaning his head against his hand.

 

“I was just waiting for one of you to ask that,” Ghetsis immediately responded, flashing his signature grin. He tapped a few keys on the console in front of him to dismiss the hologram screens bearing the information he’d been showing the others from the center of the room. “Ho-oh went wild because those disgusting, vile Tenganists interfered, and they had help. None of you recognized the threat Team Rocket posed-”

 

Athleta refused to drop the point. “That’s not going to fly as an excuse, Ghetsis. You’re the one who’s always been against them. If anyone could have beaten them, it was you.”

 

“None of you recognized the threat Team Rocket posed,” Ghetsis repeated, striking the desk repeatedly with his finger for emphasis. “I’m the one who knows them, I knew them in Unova and I knew enough to beat them now. It’s the fact the Tenganists and Team Rocket got together that made things go less than perfectly. All of you left Team Plasma to handle this practically alone. What help did you give me, _Archer_? It’s no wonder that I couldn’t bring Ho-oh in too!”

 

“I hope you know that Athleta and I have to clean up your mess now,” Praeses chimed in. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to have a good way with words?”

 

“I think we’ve heard it a million times…” Getriebe mumbled.

 

“It’s great that your speech got people talking about and looking into Polaris’s cause,” the man in the Darkrai mask continued. “It wasn’t supposed to end with a city burning down. Those of us who have to be out there every day, that’s something _we_ have to deal with.”

 

“Then maybe you should have gotten out there and contributed!” Ghetsis countered. Underneath his desk, he was clenching his fist tighter and tighter.

 

Crossing her hands in front of herself and leaning her head on them, Finansielle interjected, “I’m more interested in Matt Chiaki’s role in what happened.”

 

Before any further conversation could take place, however, the increasingly heated exchange was interrupted by Archer emerging from the shadows to stand next to the empty seat at the head of the room.

 

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, wearing a smug smirk of his own and crossing his hands behind his back.

 

“Archer, did we really have to call a meeting just to listen to Ghetsis jerk himself off?” Séduire complained. She’d become so frustrated by the experience that she’d curled her legs up onto her chair and was rocking back and forth.

 

“I don’t think that’s an image any of us needed, Séduire,” Geminus quickly said, fighting back a laugh.

 

“All jokes aside, it’s a good question,” Jeunes added. With his Mewtwo mask long since destroyed, he now wore a simple silver replacement lacking in features aside from two thin eyeholes.

 

It took every ounce of his will, but Ghetsis managed to ignore them. “Good, Archer, you’re finally here,” he sarcastically uttered. “Now that we have a full panel here, I’m bringing a movement to the floor. I have done more for this organization than any of the others seated in this room. The proof is in our cause moving to the mainstream after the speech I gave, that fully convinced the public of the legitimacy of what we stand for. In the face of this incontrovertible evidence, I hereby move that I be moved up to the seat of First Chro-”

 

“You will silence yourself right now!”

 

Almost immediately, all the eyes in the room turned in the direction of the new voice. It was one they all recognized. Most of the Chromosomes looked toward the empty seat with glowing looks of excitement, with two exceptions. Finansielle simply sat and smiled to herself, while Ghetsis’s face lost what little color it had. He knew whose voice it was, too, and the sudden presence of it made him feel the one emotion he usually only inflicted on others: fear.

 

“I hereby announce the convening of this meeting of the full Sacred Helix!” Archer announced, shooting a knowing glance at Ghetsis as he did so. “The presiding official of this conference, the First Chromosome, Father!”

 

The figure of Polaris’s leader slowly, deliberately emerged from the darkness, supporting his steps with the helix-shaped staff in his right hand. His slow motions conveyed an overwhelming dignity that would have been intimidating if those in the room weren’t mostly his followers. Even his clothing - a well-kept, dark-green military uniform beneath gently flowing crimson robes - seemed to fall under his sway, perfectly bending to his every move.

 

“Oh, uh, well… it’s very good to have you back!” Ghetsis fumbled, his swagger turning into complete desperation in an instant. As proud a man as he was, he never was above demeaning himself to ensure his own survival, even if he hated it. “I was just telling the rest of these fools about how well our event in Ecruteak City did to advance our-”

 

“That is _enough_ out of you!” Father thundered in response as he sat down. The voice produced by his face-covering, dark green helmet had a smooth, sophisticated sound that made his anger even more menacing. “I am aware of everything that has taken place. We are tired of your arrogant manipulation of this noble organization!”

 

Ghetsis suddenly felt a bead of sweat rolling down his face. “Whatever do you mean?” he asked, knowing he was walking into a trap but unable to stop himself.

 

Without another word, Father dramatically pressed a button on his own console. A hologram screen displaying nothing but a graphic of a speaker materialized in the center of the room, and a familiar conversation filled the air.

 

 _“You’re such a fucking fraud!”_ It was Matt’s voice, and even though he was yelling over a loud wind, his words were crystal clear. _“None of this has anything to do with liberating anyone from anything, does it?! What does Polaris really stand for?”_

 

Ghetsis knew what was coming next, and it made him lock completely up in his seat. If he had inflicted the fear he felt on someone else he would have loved it, but in the state he was in, that was completely lost on him.

 

_“You got me there, but I have to correct you on one thing. I serve none but myself. Polaris? Don’t make me laugh! Polaris are a bunch of small-minded fools chasing an idiotic ideology for some delusional ideal of freedom and hope. Me? I’m doing something much more tangible. What the Tenganists did to my ancestors will be paid back tenfold, and to accomplish that, I will seize control of all of Polaris. With Ho-oh, none of them will be able to stop me! I’m going to resurrect Team Plasma and make all of my dreams come true! You can bear witness to that! I’m done waiting. Ho-oh is ours, Team Rocket is beaten, and soon this entire city will be burning in its own funeral pyre. I’ll be needing this airship for the next stage of my plan, so go dispose of that fool Colress. He won’t be needed anymore.”_

 

 _“Yes, Lord Ghetsis!”_ the Shadow Triad could be heard saying in unison.

 

As the screen faded away, Ghetsis could feel the stares of everyone else in the room piercing straight through him. He tried to force himself to remain calm. _“How… Colress, the ship… he recorded it, that must be it. That’s all it is, though, a recording. I can convince them it’s all a mistake. I’m Ghetsis Harmonia after all, I nearly convinced an entire region of people to release their Pokémon. I can…”_

 

Despite his best efforts to project his ordinary confidence, his one visible eye betrayed him. He opened his mouth to speak, but his eye was twisted into a look of complete terror.

 

“You will not speak here,” Father cut him off. Polaris’s leader took a moment to glance around the room at his other followers. Even behind their masks, he knew they were in full appreciation of what they were witnessing. “In light of this damning evidence, I dare to say that there is no doubt that you are guilty of treason against Polaris, Ghetsis.” Turning away from the man who was succumbing to his fear, Father announced to the others, “I propose that there is no need for a formal trial. These are urgent times for us, so as the First Chromosome, I hereby call for a voice vote. For the crime of treason, I call for the removal of the Third Chromosome from this council!”

 

Almost instantly, the meeting room filled with a chorus of affirmative votes. Ghetsis desperately searched for even one bit of support among it, but the harder he tried, the worse it became. Each second that passed pushed him further back into his chair, staring into space with his mouth falling more and more open. Two Polaris members dressed in identical uniforms and visors suddenly emerged behind him, pushed his head down onto the desk and snapped a metal restraining band around his body.

 

“This… this is a mistake!!” he gasped in desperation. “You need me!”

 

“With Father back we don’t need a traitor like you,” Finansielle snidely replied.

 

“Finansielle is correct,” Father added, now directly addressing Ghetsis as he struggled against his bonds. “You will be imprisoned until you learn your place. I’m sure you’re thinking that your henchmen will free you and help you get revenge, but that is not going to happen. We will locate them, determine if they are loyal to Polaris or not, and neutralize the ones who keep serving you.” Turning his head up, he said to the two men holding Ghetsis, “Bring him to his new quarters.”

 

The men nodded to their leader, then forced Ghetsis up to his feet. His cane slipped from his hand and clattered noisily against the floor. A flood of threats and insults flowed from him as he was dragged off, but the other Chromosomes ignored them. Soon, he was gone.

 

“That sure was something,” Mercury remarked with a slight shake of her head.

 

“So…” Getriebe was already becoming bored again, leading him to slouch in his chair. “...to what do we owe this? What is happening for us now?”

 

“A lot. We have a lot of business to get to. The first thing we must do as we enter this important new stage is to fill the seat that has just opened on this council, and I have someone to bring before you all.”

 

“Things are about to get very, very interesting,” Finansielle smugly said to herself.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**END of CHAPTER 20**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	21. Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the war with Ghetsis in Ecruteak City, Olivia and the others force themselves forward, though the ends become increasingly unclear. They are completely unaware that they, along with the entire world, are under Polaris’s seemingly limitless influence, as everything spirals uncontrollably toward the inevitable conclusion of Polaris’s true, horrifying objective.

This chapter won’t be anywhere near as intense as the previous chapter, you’ll probably be glad to hear. I should mention, though, that this is going to touch (albeit vaguely) on that character who was raped that I mentioned way, way back at the beginning. It’s not going to be intensive but the subject is going to be touched on so I’m going to be fair and warn for it up front.

 

-:-

 

 **CHAPTER 21:** Father

  


-:-

 

“Now, please, let this council remain in order,” Father declared, raising his arms to bring a hush over the rest of the Sacred Helix. Ghetsis’ stunning fall from power had raised a storm of chatter among many of the attendees. Father and Finansielle shared a knowing glance between each other before he continued, “We have much more business to attend to during this meeting. For that reason, I immediately call for the consideration of a new Chromosome to replace the traitor Ghetsis Harmonia.”

 

“Let’s see him, then,” Finansielle said. She leaned back in her chair and turned her head upward so the others couldn’t see the self-satisfied grin she gave herself.

 

The lights in the chamber dimmed, leaving the Chromosomes illuminated in a ghostly glow while the center of the room filled with shadows. A portion of the floor then promptly opened up, allowing an elevator platform to rise up into the darkened space. Its passenger’s identity was nearly completely obscured, save for a tiny piece of black, leathery clothing that caught the light from one of the Chromosomes’ booths.

 

“I now declare this hearing on the approval of the new Third Chromosome open,” Father announced. “Questions one at a time.”

 

“I’ll go first, if I may,” Mercury announced. Hearing no objection to her request, the Chromosome cleared her throat, then asked the shadowed figure, “What is the reason you want to join the Sacred Helix? What do you want Polaris to accomplish?”

 

“I despise what this world has become,” the man responded in a deep, resonant voice. “The rich stockpile more and more resources for themselves, leaving most people to struggle for the scraps. And then there’s overcrowding and pollution, turning pristine landscapes into filthy cities full of people suffering… I cannot accept it when I know what beauty this world is capable of! Look at what’s become of Celadon City! It was once a beautiful city, an example for the world to follow… what is it now? With the uncontrolled expansion of development and complete disregard for wise resource consumption, it’s now nothing but a slum district of Saffron!”

 

“Have you done anything to remedy this in your life before Polaris?” Getriebe spoke up in his usual flat, bored tone. “Talk all you want, if you take no action…”

 

“I started a foundation with my wealth, the goals of which were to aid the poor and assist in the recovery of the environment.”

 

“Don’t just stop there,” Geminus urged while resting his chin on his clasped hands. “How’d it go?”

 

The man in the center of the room audibly huffed in frustration at the question. “I learned that those two goals clash with each other. The people I tried to elevate through my foundation just became selfish and tried to take more and more, the same way those who stood on their backs had done, consuming resources with wild abandon. My efforts were completely fruitless.”

 

“And what exactly brought you to us? Not just that, can you tell us how you came around to our way of thinking?”

 

“I will never forget the day my life, and my world, changed forever,” the man replied to Jeunes’ question. “There was a town that was besieged by a Gyarados. I traveled there and managed to subdue the Gyarados with my own Pokémon. After I captured it, I brought in my foundation to assist the people whose lives had been... “ The man’s voice abruptly took a dark, mocking tone. “... _ruined_ by Gyarados’ rampage.”

 

“That’s not why you’re here before us today, though,” Praeses ventured. “Not by itself.”

 

“As my foundation aided the townspeople,” the shadowy figure continued, “they quickly came to expect that we would take care of them forever. In time, it became apparent to me _why_ Gyarados had gone on a rampage in the first place. Those people, in their infinite greed, were destroying the lake Gyarados called home with pollution and resource extraction. They brought disaster down upon their own deserving heads!” By that point, the man had his hands held in tightly clenched fists and was trembling in both body and voice. “When I realized it, when I realized that those selfish people caused their own suffering and actually had the nerve to expect me to hold their hands through their entire lives, without any remorse for their greed… something in me snapped. I felt pure, unbridled rage flare through my body, the same kind Gyarados surely felt. To punish those humans for their greed, I used Gyarados and extinguished them. As I stood in the ashes of their town, I felt something… for the first time, I felt like I had true power, the kind that would allow me to reshape this world into a beautiful, peaceful place.”

 

The Chromosomes looked on their interviewee with varying emotions, but none of them spoke up before he continued.

 

“To this day Gyarados stands by my side as the symbol of my hatred for what humans have done to this planet. I realized, though, that to make my dreams of eternal peace and beauty come true, I would need much greater power. I threw myself fully into the study of the arcane science used by the great king AZ in the hopes of learning how to recreate his ultimate weapon. I was soon approached by Polaris representatives at the café I own in Lumiose City. At that time I was beginning to put together my own organization for the purpose of changing this world. They had learned of what I was working on and told me that Polaris could help me accomplish my dreams. Once I fully understood Polaris’ purpose, I knew I needed to be a part of it.”

 

“Such passion!” Finansielle exclaimed.

 

At that, Athleta addressed the figure. “You’ve done a lot of talking about what you want from Polaris. What are you able to offer us?”

 

“Well, as I mentioned earlier, I have vast amounts of my own resources available to me. Not just money, either. My company can provide just about any sort of technology or machinery your organization could ask for. We’ve also entered into a contract to join our media outlets with the media division of the Angel Corporation, and that sort of global access would be well suited for spreading Polaris’ message.”

 

“And you’re sure about your decision to join us?” Finansielle asked, allowing her lips to form a very slight smile. “Management of such a large operation is already a large burden with its own pitfalls. Are you really ready to completely devote yourself to our cause and set those matters aside if the situation calls for it?”

 

“Of course!” the man shouted in response, his voice cracking under his emotion. “All of my wealth, all of my business interests… none of it is worth anything if I cannot save this world!”

 

“Well, I think we have a fairly clear picture of our candidate,” Father said, intervening with a slight raise of his hands. “There is still much business for this meeting to discuss, so I propose that the approval process be expedited through unanimous consent. Are there any objections to this new Chromosome?”

 

No voices met this question. Father slowly turned his head, first to his right, then to his left. Some of the Chromosomes weren’t looking back at him, but the majority of them met his glance. Behind their masks, he could sense that they looked to him with hope in their eyes. They were relying on him to lead them, to make their dreams come true. Knowing this, he gazed down at the man in the center of the chamber and raised his staff into the air.

 

“As they say, the silence says everything. Congratulations on your appointment. Now please, inform us of what name you will be taking.”

 

The shadowy figure reached to his ear and tapped a button on a device behind it, triggering a visor to cover his eyes. Once it was fully closed, six glowing, horizontal orange lines lit up across it. He then rose to a tremendous height, allowing the lights in the room to finally reveal his appearance. Dressed entirely in black leather fringed with orange that matched his cravat, wild hair and pointed beard, he stood tall enough to nearly level with the Chromosomes’ desks.

 

“It shall be Excan,” he declared confidently.

 

“So it shall. Excan, take your seat at the third section…” As he spoke, Father gestured to a narrow set of stairs between Finansielle and Séduire’s seats. “We have a lot of work to get done tonight.”

 

While the newly appointed Chromosome walked to his seat, Athleta asked Father, “What’s this urgent matter that’s brought you back and is moving us along so quickly?”

“It’s unusual to be hearing from you,” Father said, his voice reflecting a tiny bit of amusement. “It’s a question you all deserve the answer to. The truth is, one of the most major signs of Polaris’ true purpose has finally appeared. It has been discovered that a new Coronet Rosary has been born.”

Almost immediately upon the words ‘Coronet Rosary’ leaving Father’s mouth, most of the other Chromosomes shot forward in their chairs. The term was all they needed to hear to understand the exact reason for the hurried pace of the meeting. In fact, the only ones not reacting with shock to the announcement were Excan, who’d just reached his seat, and Finansielle, who merely sat back, crossed her arms and smiled.

 

“I didn’t think this day would even come in my lifetime,” the awe-struck Mercury remarked. “Who is it?”

 

“See for yourselves,” Polaris’ leader replied while manipulating the keys in front of himself.

 

The hologram generators around the room blinked back to life, giving form to multiple screens containing various data feeds. At the center of all the charts, animated helixes and other information was an image of the person in question. The moment she saw it, Mercury shrank back in her seat, regretting having had any interest in the subject.

 

Long blue hair spreading behind her, and big eyes reflecting both bitter determination and haunted memories. There was no doubt about it - the image was a photo of Olivia.

 

“For those of you who don’t already know, this is Olivia Mistbloom,” Father announced while briefly raising his staff once more. “She’s the daughter of the Frontier Society’s commissioner, and I have been able to confirm that she is the one who will help us unlock the gate to our world of true justice.”

 

“That little…” Séduire growled to herself, clenching both her teeth and her fist.

 

Geminus shot a glance over to Séduire, then to Mercury, before finally smiling and clasping his hands together. “I don’t doubt your judgment, Father, but please do explain more about this. Some of us are not entirely up to speed with things.”

 

“I must say that I agree,” Excan concurred. “For our actions to be most effective, we should all be on the same page.”

 

A chuckle slipped from Father’s lips despite his best efforts to stifle it. “My, my, you are both quite enthusiastic. That’s very good. Very well.” A quick swipe of his hand over the controls brought some of the holographic charts in the room’s center to full prominence. “Our intelligence brought Olivia to my attention as a potential candidate for being the new Coronet Rosary, so I acquired a sample of her blood via one of my Pokémon. Analysis revealed to me that her genes are mutating as a result of repeated exposure to temporal energy, such as the power of Dialga and the Time Gates in Argyros Town and Ilex Forest. She had the latent potential within her due to her having connections to the ancient Tenganists in her maternal heritage combined with her father’s descent directly from the Sootopolitans of one thousand years ago. It’s exposure to that energy that brought her potential to life. As these changes occur, she will ultimately develop incredible cognitive abilities that we need to make use of. Not only her brain is being affected. Her every cell is changing, passing through time at an abnormal pace. These abilities are what make her crucial to us.”

 

Pausing his explanation briefly, Father stretched his free hand straight out toward the holograms, his palm facing upward.

 

“She is the one that will give us the ability to utilize the device built by the ancient Tenganists to survive the end of everything. When the Day of Reckoning arrives, we will ride out those events with our adherents in this ark and travel into a new era.” To accentuate his point, Father tightly closed his outstretched fist. “It will be a time where all the suffering and loss so widespread in this world disappears, and she will bring us into that future!”

 

“Ooh, how exciting,” Jeunes remarked.

 

“Indeed,” Getriebe said in agreement. “If she is so important to our cause, then I propose we move to capture her immedia-”

 

“Absolutely not!” Finansielle interrupted, so loudly that Getriebe visibly jumped in his chair. She noticed this and quickly calmed herself. “It’s not time yet. We have far too many things to accomplish in preparation for the Coronet Rosary’s arrival. And if I’m not mistaken, she hasn’t come close to finishing her transformation, has she?”

 

“That is correct,” Father confirmed, maintaining his straight, steady stare. “If we were to bring her in too soon, the stress could disrupt her change and cause her to become unstable. At that point there is a risk that her transformation goes out of control and destroys her.”

 

“But if we leave her out there with Matt Chiaki and that Nekou woman from Team Rocket, she could end up totally against us. Do you not worry about that?”

 

Getriebe’s plea didn’t draw out an immediate response, but when the answer came, it was full of Father’s anger. “This is not up for discussion!” he roared, pressing his clenched fist into the desk. Getriebe had no idea just how much his earnest words had upset his leader. “When it comes to Olivia, we remain strictly as observers for now. Do all of you understand that?” He did not wait for an answer, instead rapping the bottom tip of his staff against the floor to emphasise his words. “Now, moving on, we have another matter to attend to. Doctor Colress, please enter.”

 

“I’m already here. Wouldn’t want to be late.”

 

Much to the surprise of the Sacred Helix, Colress had slipped into the meeting chamber during the heated exchange moments earlier and waited to be called. His sudden appearance elicited annoyed groans from several of the Chromosomes. Even though he heard them, he kept smiling to himself.

 

“Who let you in here like this?” Getriebe demanded.

 

“When one has ideas as brilliant as the ones swirling around in this head…” Colress pointed to his own brow as he spoke, “...doors tend to open up for you.”

 

“I understand you have quite a bit to tell us,” Father said to the scientist, raising his voice slightly to overrule an irritated growl from Getriebe. “Get busy.”

 

From his pocket, Colress produced his tablet and unfolded it. His fingers glided across its surface with the grace of a dancer’s movements, almost appearing as if they weren’t even touching the screen. Around him, the hologram screens shifted their positions, surrounding the scientist with his research.

 

“I’ve been working on a few things,” Colress explained to the Chromosomes, while certain projections came to the forefront. “Chief among them is this. It’s a cutting edge bio-computer system whose capabilities will continually evolve as more and more data is plugged into it.”

 

“What sort of data?” Mercury asked.

 

“Data on Pokémon battles and the individual capability of the Pokémon themselves, of course,” Colress replied. He tilted his head back, smiled broadly, and continued, “We’re going to take in data from all sources and create the ultimate repository of information on the hidden potential of Pokémon. And as that database evolves, we will use it.”

 

“I don’t fully understand what you mean by that,” Séduire interjected. She was hurriedly scanning the information on the holograms, but couldn’t absorb it. “What’s the real purpose of this?”

 

“The answer to that actually leads right into my second project.” Colress swept his fingers across the tablet again, calling forth even more information. “With the aid of the staff at the Adenosine Base, I’ve finished work on what I was hired by Polaris to create: a new strain of Pokérus. Now, as you _may_ or _may not_ know, Pokérus enhances the growth of infected Pokémon. Now, the catch there is that it can only accelerate that Pokémon’s growth to its existing maximum potential. With this new Pokérus, that isn’t the case. The key is combining the DNA Splicers with the radiation from the Meteonites, which is similar to the energy given off by Mega Stones and Key Stones. With those additions, the new Pokérus can bond so thoroughly to the DNA of a subject that with my bio-computer, altering a Pokemon to reach its maximum conceivable potential will be child's play! And that’s where the evolution of the database comes into play. As the system’s database grows, what it will be able to do will evolve as well. Eventually, we might even be able to push Pokémon beyond their natural potential, making them even stronger and allowing them to learn moves they never could have before. Truly a miraculous creation, I would dare to say.”

 

“Once we’re able to mass produce these altered Pokémon, we can bring true justice into this world,” Finansielle mused. “Not only will our own military power grow dramatically, those who join us and fully commit to our beliefs can have their own Pokémon strengthened as well.”

 

“Once they’re out in the hands of people who rightfully deserve them, the imbalance between them and those who can afford to breed and train large numbers of Pokémon to find the strongest will disappear,” Praeses added. “Not only true justice, but true equality as well.”

 

Colress took a brief time to stand at the center of the room and basked in the praise he was hearing before speaking again. “And if you thought that was good, the rest of the Adenosine Base and myself are ready to move ahead with our experiment using the Meteonite and the Oberon…”

 

“On that subject,” Father abruptly interrupted the scientist, “please, wait until I give you a go-ahead, Doctor.”

 

“As you wish, my leader.” Colress said, putting his hand over his heart.

 

With that, Father slowly rose from his seat. His movement was slow but steady, and he visibly put his weight on his staff as he stood. Once he reached his full height, he spread his arms out with his staff in his right hand. The entire Sacred Helix fit into his wide, welcoming embrace.

 

“As we close this meeting, my children, allow me to tell you that your dedication to our cause will soon bear the fruits you have awaited.” A number of smiles from around the panel greeted this proclamation. “All of you joined for your own reasons, but the worlds you dream of will soon come into reality. With the necessary tools all falling into place, Polaris stands at the gateway to history. We will soon destroy the Pokémon League and reshape this world into one void of the corruption and injustice its society has created! No longer will anyone suffer as we have. Our blood, sweat and tears will build the road into a world of hope for all who wish to reach out and claim it! Now, Chromosomes, you are dismissed. Please await the next step we take toward our promised land!”

 

Ignoring the other Chromosomes, Mercury immediately stood up and headed for the exit. As she walked, she clenched both her fists and her teeth. _“Of all the people the key could be, it had to be Olivia… Now I’ll never convince either of them that this is for the best. If I can’t save them, none of this was ever worth it…”_

 

-:-

 

As the hours passed and the war in Ecruteak City unfolded far away from the Sinjoh Ruins, Jacob kept Looker and Sylpha occupied with stories from his travels over the years. He’d always enjoyed an audience, and the detective and the young Tenganist sat in rapt attention as he spoke.

 

“...so Sutter and I never did manage to find the oasis where Hoopa supposedly hid its treasure, but that really was a fascinating one. Somehow, wandering around searching for something with virtually no clues to where it is can actually be quite enjoyable. You know what they say, it’s about the journey, not the destination.”

 

“Wow…” Sylpha said in awe. “You think our Hoopa has a treasure like that, too?”

“Who knows. Maybe you’d want to ask your leader about-”

 

“I don’t know if our Hoopa is connected to that story, I’ll tell you that right now.”

 

Much to the surprise of the three in the cell room, the Prophet descended the stairs, having overheard the very end of their conversation. She was alone, and her arms hung loosely at her sides.

 

“You’re back!” Sylpha exclaimed. “Does that mean everything went okay?”

 

“Not entirely,” the Prophet weakly answered, “but we survived, so I guess the details can wait for another time.”

 

“In that case, then…” Hesitating, Sylpha glanced toward Jacob, who gave her a reassuring nod. She took a deep breath to gather her courage. “Can I ask you about something?”

 

“What is it?” A quick survey of the faces looking at her quickly led the Prophet to realize something was amiss. Her voice took on a harder tone when she said, “What’s going on?”

 

Again, Sylpha hesitated to ask her question. Even at her young age, she had quickly learned that certain subjects weren’t to be discussed, including the one currently on her mind. In spite of this, Jacob’s breakdown and subsequent explanation of why she deserved to know kept urging her on to say something. With no other idea of what to do, she took several steps toward the Prophet, making the hooded woman move back in confusion.

 

“...Sylpha, what…?”

 

Sylpha froze in her tracks and took another deep breath to compose herself. After finally working up enough courage, she asked, “Can you tell me the truth about what really happened here? About Saeko O-”

 

The change in the Prophet’s attitude was nearly instantaneous. Before she even heard the entirety of Saeko’s name, her confusion gave way to very obvious anger. She shoved past Sylpha and stormed over to the cell where Looker and Jacob were held.

 

“Jacob, I know you did this!” she shouted, clutching the bars of the cell so tightly her knuckles turned white. “You knew that she is not to be spoken of, and yet you plant these ideas into the head of someone innocent-!”

 

Instead of backing away, Jacob walked right up to the bars himself. “I understand what happened here isn’t something you want to talk about. I witnessed it, you know that. But if you’re going to lead these people, they deserve to know the truth. If what happened between Sutter, Saeko and myself all those years ago didn’t happen, you would all be able to live here in peace! You’d be safe from Polaris forever because this land would be able to sustain you! Whatever you’re fighting for, you have to accept and understand the past or you’ll never be able to escape it.”

 

A long, tense silence followed Jacob’s impassioned plea. The Prophet didn’t flinch or back away from the bars, and neither did Jacob. They just stood still, each of them staring the other down, while Looker and Sylpha watched. To the onlookers, it felt like forever before the Prophet finally turned away from the bars.

 

“Some things should never be spoken of,” she said, causing Jacob to preemptively slouch in disappointment behind her. “But you’re right. I’m in a position of having to uphold our customs now, as the leader of what remains of us… but that’s also why I have to be a good leader to them. You’re right. For what we’re fighting for… I will tell all three of you the whole story.”

  
“I… really?” Though he stood up straight again, Jacob was dumbfounded by this turn of events.

 

“Thank you!” Sylpha exclaimed, unable to stop herself from clapping her hands together once. “I’m happy you trust me enough to tell me! Can we get started?”

 

“No, not now,” the Prophet responded while looking over her shoulder. “I need some time to get everything prepared. This story is much longer than any of you can possibly think.”

 

The Prophet said nothing more before leaving the room. In the cell, Jacob could only watch while feeling his heart sink.

 

_“It isn’t just basically what I already knew? There’s that much more to it?”_

 

-:-

 

The next day, the sky over the Sinjoh Ruins was clear and the air was still. Sunlight glistened on the snow, but did little to make the area warmer.

 

In her room, the Prophet’s mood was as cold as the weather outside. She sat on her bed, staring down at a crude wooden Arceus figure in her hand.

 

“How much more of this do I have to go through?” she said to the object. “Please, Arceus, tell me… how much more will I be tested? Wasn’t going back in time enough?”

 

The Prophet continued to stare into her palm, considering the figure. For a prolonged time the room was silent. This was eventually broken, however, by her child crying out. She gasped and nearly dropped the woodcraft Arceus as her reverie was broken. After quickly returning it to its place on the table next to her bed, she stood and hurried over to take her child into her arms from his cradle.

 

“There, there, it’s okay…” she said to him in an effort to comfort him. As she gently rocked him back and forth, a realization entered her mind. “I can’t feel sorry for myself anymore… I’m not the one that matters now. I have to be strong for you… and for everyone following me. They have to believe that what inspires them is real…” She then thought of Sylpha, Jacob and Looker. “Even if it’s something that was forbidden… Jacob’s right... I owe them something that justifies their belief.”

 

-:-

 

In the woods of Route 38, another kind of leadership crisis was beginning to develop. With Matt, Bunny, Monroe and Avril watching, Olivia stood before her Pokémon sans Mareep. She nervously rolled the Poké Ball containing her newly-caught Electric-type around in her hand while staring toward her existing team. Drops of sweat rolled from her brow all the while, as the young trainer reluctantly moved her finger over the release button.

 

“You guys…” she said, haltingly. “I want to formally introduce you to your new teammate. Mareep, come out.”

 

Olivia’s grasp on the Poké Ball slipped a little as she turned the button on it toward her fingers, the result of her skin becoming lightly damp from sweat. She managed to avoid dropping it, though, and pressed the button to pop it open. Mareep materialized from within the sphere and shook out her wool as soon as she appeared.

 

Cinccino and Herdier were the first of Olivia’s other Pokémon to react to Mareep. The latter slowly but steadily approached the Electric-type Pokémon and sniffed at her, attempting to determine as much as he could about her. Cinccino, on the other hand, held no such restraint. Seeing some dirt on Mareep’s wool, she darted forward and began trying to clean it off.

 

Mareep grit her teeth and started to tense up, having quickly grown tired of Cinccino’s work on her coat. Sensing that an electrical outburst was imminent, Krabby ran up to Mareep and clicked frantically, trying to talk her down. The shock was delayed long enough for Krabby to grab Cinccino by its scarf-like fur and pull her off of Mareep. Krabby then turned his chattering to his Normal-type teammate, offering an explanation of the situation that brought Cinccino out of her confusion and got her to apologize to their new teammate.

 

Roselia and Mr. Mime were the next to approach; the latter guardedly hung behind the slow yet deliberate and elegant movements of his diminutive companion. The Grass-and-Poison-type Pokémon extended the red rose on her right arm toward Mareep, who only stared at the flower indifferently.

 

Then Mareep looked up and saw Dewott.

 

The Water-type hadn’t moved an inch from where Olivia had released him. He’d just stood there  scowling with his arms crossed. Mareep walked past Roselia and Mr. Mime, her wool brushing against the pair with pops of static. She boldly went right up to Dewott and bleated aggressively at him, puffing up her wool to exert physical dominance.

 

“What’s with Mareep?” Monroe wondered, standing next to Olivia.

 

Mareep continued her verbal assault on Dewott, her belligerent noises growing louder and louder until Dewott finally hissed back at her. He held one of his shells in her face, clearly threatening her. The Electric-type took a tiny step back in surprise, but this quickly turned into Mareep running to Olivia’s side. Once she reached her trainer’s side, she bleated at Dewott again, but instead of her earlier aggression, her voice carried a self-satisfied smugness.

 

Dewott immediately became even more enraged and rushed at Mareep, brandishing his shell. He was stopped when Krabby blocked his path, causing a collision that sent the two Water-types  tumbling over each other. While they untangled themselves, Mareep snickered to herself.

 

“If you ask me, Dewott doesn’t like the new blood taking your attention,” Avril said as she joined her brother at Olivia’s side.

 

“You’re probably right about that… none of the other Pokémon ever tried to be this dominant, now that I think about it.” Leaning down, Olivia directly addressed Dewott, “Is that right?”

 

The Water-type Pokémon barked in response and then jumped into Olivia’s arms, surprising her and nearly knocking her off balance. He wasted no time in turning to Mareep and making a face at her. For a moment, Olivia braced herself for the possibility of the sheep leaping on top of her to get at Dewott.

 

“Those two look ready to kill each other,” Avril observed. “Come on, I’ll help you train so this gets sorted out.”

 

Both Olivia and Monroe looked to Avril in complete surprise; they were both expecting her to say something completely different.

 

“Why are you helping me?” Olivia stopped briefly to consider her words, then said, “You’re the last person I’d expect to-”

 

“Because what kind of a rival are you for me if you’re not at the top of your game?” Avril snapped, cutting Olivia off. She then shoved her hands into her pockets, turned away and bitterly added, “And if you don’t get yourself together, the new Gym Leader in Olivine City will absolutely destroy you. Trust me on that. Come on, let’s go.”

 

Avril’s words prompted her brother to give her a long, knowing stare, though he said nothing. Olivia did not notice this. Instead, she just looked down at Dewott, who was still taunting Mareep from the safety of her arms.

 

“I think… this is my fault,” she said to herself as she rose to follow Avril and Monroe into the woods.

 

Meanwhile, next to HR-E, Matt turned his head down and kicked at the dirt, then reached into his bag and took out his pocket watch.

 

“I’m so afraid she’ll end up being hurt like everyone else…” he admitted to Bunny, his voice flat and hollow. He stared at the pictures in the watch and said, “Eleanor, Agenta, Sheena, Anabel, everything I touch just…” Trailing off of that thought, Matt turned his head in Bunny’s direction. “You too. After what we just went through…”

 

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Bunny’s assertion was as firm as the determined expression on her face. “I can take care of myself.”

 

“I guess, but…” Giving up on his words, Matt weakly looked back over his shoulder. “Nekou would be able to connect with her and help her right now. She’d know what to do. But she’s not okay either…”

 

-:-

 

Inside, Nekou’s situation had improved, if only marginally. She’d recovered enough to get off the couch, and was searching through a nearby bookcase. A stack of beer cans was on the table, guarded by some of her Pokémon, namely Marie, Dalian, Edgar and Lenore, the four who had been with her the longest. The younger Zorua and Pumpkaboo sat near the others, watching Nekou as she browsed the shelves.

 

Her eyes eventually settled on a book that was significantly older than those surrounding it. Its leathery cover was tattered slightly, and when she pulled it out of the shelf, she could see that its pages had begun to yellow. In spite of that, she thought to herself that it looked remarkably well kept for its age.

 

“The Prince and the Soul-Heart…” she read off the book’s elaborately-illustrated cover. “I didn’t think we had books like this on this bus…”

 

With the thick volume in her hands, Nekou threw herself back onto the couch and opened one of her drinks, then started to read.

 

-:-

 

The air in the spring beneath the Sinjoh Ruins was almost totally silent, interrupted only by the soft sound of gently flowing water. Pierce sat on the edge of the spring, hypnotized by the glistening of its pristine surface. He exhaled a small puff of vapor and pulled his trenchcoat closer to himself.

 

Nearby, Anthea and Concordia soaked in the spring, wearing light robes given to them by the Prophet to replace the rags Ghetsis forced them to wear. Pierce broke his trance to look over at them.

 _“We’re almost there…”_ he thought to himself while he watched them stare blankly into the deeper parts of the cave. _“It won’t be long before all of us are finally back together…”_

 

Suddenly, the silence in the cavern was broken by the sound of steady footsteps. Anthea and Concordia didn’t react, but Pierce quickly stood up and reached for a Poké Ball. He stopped, however, when he realized that the intruder was Kristos.

 

“How are they doing?” Kristos asked Pierce, gesturing with his shoulder to the two women in the water.

 

“The Prophet told me we’d have this time alone,” Pierce sharply replied.

 

“She sent me here, and is on her way herself.” Kristos’s firm words and stern facial expression made Pierce shrink back slightly. Memories of when he and his wife Lotus were brought to the ruins by the Prophet soon surfaced, the reminiscence of their own fortunes prompting Kristos to soften up. “I apologize, I should have been a little nicer. I must remember that everyone who takes refuge here has suffered at Polaris’s hands…”

 

“They’ve been tortured for so long…” Pierce turned bleary-eyed back to his mother and aunt, who had not moved an inch. He lowered his eyelids, almost unable to look at them as they sat in the water. “It’s been decades for them. I’ll never forget that day they were torn away from me and my sister right before our eyes… she was too young to remember it, but I know how lucky we were to escape.” Fully closing his eyes, Pierce tightened his fist. “I spent my entire life trying to find and save them. It’s been so long for them that I’m shocked they survived…”

 

Suddenly, Anthea spoke up. Her voice was barely a whisper, but in the relative silence of the cave, Pierce and Kristos could clearly hear her.

 

“It’s over… we’re free…”

 

“Mother!” Pierce exclaimed, water already starting to well up in the corners of his eyes.

 

Even though Anthea heard her long-lost son’s voice, his words failed to register with her. She instead turned to her more immediate companion, the one who had been with her through the best and worst of the past decades - Concordia. Watching her golden-haired friend, who was unable to do much more than stare down at herself in shock, Anthea recalled the time they’d spent together in Virbank City in southeastern Unova.

 

Back then, they’d both been aspiring actresses, finding work at Virbank’s Pokéstar Studios where they could. Their friendship formed fast after they met at an audition, and not long after, they moved into a shared apartment not far from the Virbank Complex industrial area. Her young son Pierce lived with them and for some time they were the closest thing possible to a family, one that grew when Anthea had her daughter. Those happy times wouldn't last, as one day the man who would become their long-time tormentor, Ghetsis, arrived at the bar they worked at to make ends meet. He soon abducted them, tearing them away from the life they knew to imprison them in an underground castle where they were held hostage to his whims. The exact circumstances of their kidnapping had long since vanished from Anthea’s memory, forced out by the decades of horror their lives stretched into.

 

After everything they had been through, when Anthea looked at Concordia in the underground spring, she felt like things were at long last going back to normal. Concordia, finally coming out of her state of shock, looked back at Anthea and smiled ever so slightly.

 

“Anthea… we really are…”

 

Concordia  didn't bother to finish her sentence. The two women who loved each other like sisters instead tearfully embraced in the water, barely able to contain their excitement over their long-sought freedom. On the edge of the lake, both Pierce and Kristos smiled as well.

 

“You did well for them, my friend,” Kristos said. “Our people need these small miracles where we can get them.”

 

“Thank you.” Pierce raised his arm and called to Anthea and Concordia, “Mother! Aunt Concordia!”

 

“It’s been so long,” Anthea said, wiping away her tears, “but I know your face when I see it, Pierce. You’ve grown into a fine man.”

 

“I don’t deserve that respect,” Pierce insisted, his mood dampened by a sudden wave of regret that washed over him. With his lifelong dream accomplished, the reality of his actions was starting to catch up with him. “I’ve done a lot of things a fine man wouldn't do, all to find you and then get enough power to rescue you. There are a lot of people who have been hurt because of me.”

 

“You can still start over,” Concordia suggested.

 

“ _We_ can start over,” Anthea corrected her friend, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You, me and Pierce… there’s time now. We can go home and all of us can start over.”

 

“Mother, I'm sorry, but there's no starting over for us now.” Pierce tightened his fists as he wrestled with the anger and despair he felt at having to explain what he’d done on his way to rescuing them. As much as he now wished his time with Team Rocket didn’t exist, he had willingly and even enthusiastically served Giovanni in return for the organization’s help for his goals. “The world is a different place from what it was back then, thanks to Ghetsis and Polaris. We can’t just live our lives the same way anymore.”

 

All of a sudden, an angry, indignant voice echoed through the cave. _“To think you, a member of Team Rocket, complains about your life being irreversibly changed! After what you did to me, you have no right!”_

 

Pierce was so startled by the voice that he stumbled backward against Kristos, then staggered forward and nearly fell into the lake. He managed to right himself in time, but when he looked up to see who his accuser was, he found Mewtwo’s icy purple eyes cutting him to the bone. The Psychic-type Pokémon floated in the air over the spring, its tail flicking back and forth at a rapid pace while its fingers trembled from rage.

 

“M-Mewtwo…” Pierce stammered, “You were in Ecruteak, you should understand…”

 

 _“I understand what I must!”_ Mewtwo roared in response. _“Outside, I will fight Polaris with you. But that is because we share an enemy! Team Rocket has no right to be here in this refuge!”_

 

An Aura Sphere crackled to life in Mewtwo’s right hand, but Pierce made no effort to escape. He just stood still, casting his eyes toward the ground.

 

“Mewtwo, if it’s ultimately my fate to be destroyed by your hand, I can accept that. But please…” Pierce turned upward, looking straight at Mewtwo with an uncharacteristically desperate expression on his face. He looked like he was about to start crying, his lip quivering from his emotions instead of the cold. “Please, let me at least have some time to bring my family back together! I beg you, let me have that!”

 

This display of emotion caught Mewtwo by surprise. Haunting memories of a certain group of Pokémon flooded into its mind, triggered by Pierce’s words.

 

 _“Family…”_ Mewtwo’s arm briefly trembled, though the clone soon regained composure. _“Hypocrite! Team Rocket took my family from me! We lived in peace and **you** came to destroy that! You have no right to grovel to me now!”_

 

Mewtwo brought its left arm around, surrounding the budding Aura Sphere with both of its hands. The orb flared with greater power than ever. Pierce still didn't try to get away, his initial crushing guilt having since been replaced with a paralyzing fear.  It wasn't the mortal peril of the Aura Sphere that kept him fixed to his spot; it was instead the mere thought that after all his decades of work to find and rescue Anthea and Concordia, he would have the consequences of Team Rocket’s actions catch up with him before he could bring his whole family back together.

 

While Pierce just stared at Mewtwo in anticipation of his fate, Anthea and Concordia got out of the water and hurried over to put themselves between the two. They stood with their backs to Pierce and spread their arms to partially shield him.

 

“Don’t hurt him, please!” Anthea pleaded to the Psychic-type.

 

Mewtwo froze at the sight of Anthea and Concordia protecting Pierce, stirring up more of its memories. When Team Rocket invaded their isolated mountain home, it sacrificed its own well being to protect the group of clones it cared for. They weren’t genetically related to Mewtwo, but Mewtwo created them with similar technology to that which it was born from itself, so they were like children to it. It would have done anything to protect them.

 

 _“Just as they are doing now…_ Mewtwo thought to itself as it considered these memories and its current situation. It didn’t dispel the Aura Sphere, but it stopped advancing on Pierce.

 

“Mewtwo,  what are you doing? Stop this!”

 

The confrontation had been so intense that none of the humans in the spring noticed the Prophet enter the cavern with Sylpha, Jacob and Looker. Not even Kristos noticed despite being sent there by her. When she saw the scene that was unfolding, the Prophet immediately rushed forward and extended her hand toward Mewtwo.

 

 _“Spare me your Transcendence,”_ Mewtwo said, its voice making its agitation quite clear. _“Tell me why he is here. Why is an agent of Team Rocket in this refuge?”_

 

“Because he is one of my people, and this place is a refuge for all of us. When he is here there is no such thing as Team Rocket. He is only Pierce, a young man whose family was torn apart by Gh…” For a very brief moment, the Prophet’s resolve weakened. “Ghetsis… He and Polaris destroyed this family and while they are here, they are just that, seeking shelter here like all of my people. This is not going to be a negotiable point.”

 

Frustration overcame Mewtwo, making it shake in the air as it wrestled with what to do. Its indecision ultimately led it to scream and fling the Aura Sphere down into the water, where the orb of energy burst and created a small wave.

 

_“I will respect your wishes… under one condition. I want to know what your objective is. What you are truly up to.”_

 

“That is a fair request,” the Prophet immediately replied. “You’ll get that answer along with everyone else.” Turning to the others, she then said, “Pierce, I see you and your family have already gotten acquainted with him, so Looker, Jacob, allow me to introduce you to Kristos.”

 

“It’s a pleasure,” Kristos said in greeting, quickly shaking hands with both men.

 

“That it is,” Looker said.

 

“I thought you were going to tell us what really happened to this place and Saeko Oryo,” Jacob complained. “What part does he have in this?”

 

“I also told you this story was much bigger than you think,” retorted the Prophet. “Sylpha, I want to impress upon you the importance of your position. This is knowledge so few of our people are aware of that even I only learned it relatively recently.”

 

“I’m ready.” Deep down in her heart, however, Sylpha felt a growing sense of apprehension. Since the Prophet knew about the Shadow Triad killing her family and destroying her village, whatever was coming had to be even more severe. Subconsciously, Sylpha joined her hands tightly together behind her back.

 

“Very well,” the Prophet said. “Kristos, let’s begin.”

 

“Where do we even start?” he said with a sarcastic chuckle. “Well… this place, the Sinjoh Ruins, were once the Tenganist holy land and now we take refuge here. You know all of that already.”

 

Kristos waited for his audience to nod in silent understanding before he continued the story.

 

“We came here from all over, mostly because of Ghetsis and his men destroying our homes.” He gestured to Sylpha to emphasize his point. “In my case, my heritage comes from where Argyros Town once existed. My ancestors Althea and Catherine were once the guardians of the shrine there, but the town was abandoned long before I was born.”

 

“I’m sure you’re wondering what that has to do with everything else.” The Prophet shot a glance at Jacob, who was visibly shifting around uncomfortably, as she said this. “Keep it in mind. What’s really going on here begins eons ago, in the land of Michina. It was there that Arceus saved the planet by destroying a giant meteor over five thousand years ago. It suffered terrible injuries from doing so and was left near death due to the loss of its Life Plates in the collision. However, Arceus was saved by a man named Damos, whose Transcendence let him touch the hearts of Pokémon.”

 

Turning away from the others, the Prophet walked to the edge of the spring and stared into its pristine water.

 

“To thank him,” she continued, a hint of sadness in her voice, “Arceus used some of the Plates to form the Jewel of Life, assisting humans at the cost of diminishing its own life. It gave Damos the ability to harness the life energy of the earth and revitalize the land. That energy goes by many names… Gaia, Dragon Force, the Voice of Life, different Tenganist sects call it different things, but it’s a power that can give life and is the source of Transcendence itself. With the Jewel of Life, Damos could directly harness the Gaia energy and turn Michina from a desolate, ruined wasteland into a fertile paradise. Because Arceus’ life force was diminished, however, Damos was to return the Jewel of Life on the day the moon covered the sun.”

 

“A solar eclipse… I’m well aware those are very important for you,” Jacob commented.

 

“Indeed,” Kristos confirmed. “Our people used them to mark the passage of time since when Damos led us.”

 

The Prophet began talking again, but stayed firmly in place looking down at the spring. “As you may know, not all was well. One of Damos’ advisors, Marcus, feared that once the Jewel of Life was returned, Michina would be ruined once again. He intended to force Damos to betray Arceus,  but a group of individuals empowered by Dialga managed to defeat Marcus and save Arceus’ life.”

 

“That can’t be it… can it?” Sylpha wondered.

 

“If it was, that would be great,” Kristos answered. “Michina did in fact revert to its previous state, but Arceus taught Damos how to fix things. To replace the Jewel of Life, Arceus gave him a device containing its knowledge… the Life Orb. Once they were done using the Life Orb to bring Michina back once more, Damos sent another of his lieutenants, Kratos, to lead a group of Tenganists tasked with spreading the Life Orb’s knowledge worldwide.  In their travels they brought our ways of life to many lands, but when they reached the Tohjo Continent, things took a terrible turn.”

 

“Is this where it gets bigger than I ever knew?”

 

“Jacob, be patient.” Even while directly addressing Jacob, the Prophet didn’t turn around. “It wouldn't be wrong to say that here, but I said it about… something else.”

 

With Jacob sufficiently quieted, Kristos continued his part of the story. “When Kratos and his group reached the place where Argyros Town would later stand, they made a terrible discovery.”

 

“There was a village there already,” the Prophet said, picking up where Kristos left off. “The people of the village worshiped a demon called Azrael-”

 

At the mere mention of the name Azrael, Pierce’s eyes widened and he turned as white as a sheet. He immediately became dizzy and felt as if he would collapse, but nobody noticed and the Prophet continued talking.

 

“-which they were introduced to by a supernatural force we call Dark Matter. Dark Matter induced horrific visions and fed off their negative emotions such as fear, hatred and especially despair like a parasite. It drove the villagers to believe that this entity Azrael would make their dreams come true if they managed to bring her into this reality. To make that happen the villagers sacrificed one of their own to act as Azrael’s host body, and Dark Matter took her over. Her human body couldn’t survive absorbing all the Dark Matter at once, so until the time when her transformation could be completed, the remaining Dark Matter took the form of a Zoroark.”

 

“Wait!” Looker exclaimed. “The story you are telling to us is of the events Matt Chiaki took the time to tell me! Argyros Town, Zoroark, I am aware of these things!”

 

Though she didn't reply until Looker was done speaking, the Prophet turned back around when he mentioned Matt’s name and walked closer to him and Jacob.

 

“He doesn't know about Dark Matter, as far as I know, and I want it to stay that way. Anyway…” Once again, she turned her back to the others. “Kratos tried to save the villagers, but they were too far gone under Dark Matter’s control. War broke out, and ultimately the village and its residents were all destroyed. Kratos managed to drain the Dark Matter from Azrael’s body, but she died in the process as it was bonded too securely to her being. They finally managed to seal Dark Matter away in a stone tablet using the Life Orb, but to keep the seal in effect a sacrifice was required each time the moon covered the sun.”

 

“A sacrifice…” Sylpha quietly repeated to herself, turning her head away from her leader.

 

“During the war, Kratos and his followers experienced horrible visions of their own,” the Prophet continued. “They saw that one day in the future, the sun would cease to shine and space would collapse in on the Earth, leading to the end of all life. In order to prevent this, they constructed an incredible machine to harness the power of the Pokémon that first sent Gaia flowing through the planet. They called their creation the Coronet Rosary.”

 

“So that’s what it is…” Jacob said to himself. “I wonder why exactly Sutter didn't want me to know…”

 

“It both is and isn't,” the Prophet replied. “We’ll get back to that, though. What happened next is not completely clear, but it is believed that the Coronet Rosary’s creators realized that it might not save all existence like they intended. In fact, they are thought to have realized that what they built would bring about the destruction they were fighting to prevent.”

 

Jacob, Looker and Sylpha all felt their blood run as cold as the cavern air when they heard this. Their outward reactions remained muted, but internally, all three felt like they had just been dropped off tall buildings, and even Mewtwo seemed to have a twinge of discomfort flash across its face. Pierce, Anthea and Concordia felt similarly but remained silent, awaiting what would come next.

 

“My leade...uh…” Sylpha found speaking difficult and stumbled over the words she could manage. “But why? Why… for what reason would they build it if that was possible?”

 

“I am agreeing with that!” Looker suddenly shouted, his restraint swiftly breaking upon Sylpha providing motivation. “Doing so would be a mistake most foolish!”

 

“That would be true if they were fully aware of the consequences of their actions,” said the Prophet. “What is written tells us that Dark Matter works its way into your mind in the most devious ways. If it wanted, Kratos and his followers would be blind to the truth the entire time.”

 

“And they’d never know it…” Concordia mused. As the last of her words left her mouth, a realization hit her, causing her to subconsciously reach over and grip Anthea’s arm. “If that was the case, why did you say they realized the truth?”

 

“Maybe the Life Orb opened their eyes,” the Tenganist leader blandly responded, “or maybe that was what Dark Matter wanted to happen. Whatever the reason, they went insane from these revelations. To prevent it from ever being used, they sealed the Coronet Rosary away somewhere and spread conflicting myths about it to obscure its true meaning.”

 

 _“No wonder Sutter tried to hide it from me,”_ Jacob thought to himself. _“And I ended up involving Bunny…”_

 

“As for the Life Orb,” Kristos added, “it was returned to where Dark Matter was sealed, the land of my ancestors. Argyros Town was built there, and we continued to guard the Life Orb for many years. After the Firestorm Rebellion in 1850, however, it left our possession and vanished into history. To this day, it hasn’t been recovered.”

 

“I don’t understand what this all has to do with Saeko Oryo though,” Sylpha said. The Tenganist punctuated her question with a forceful step, prompting the Prophet to turn her attention back to her audience.

 

“Remember how I said Kratos and his followers spread conflicting myths about the Coronet Rosary across the world?” The Prophet reached up and gripped the leather strap that held her cloak across her shoulders. “One of those rumors was that the Coronet Rosary was a person, someone who would be born with a Transcendence that would open the door to the future. Saeko Oryo, who could see the past and future, was believed to be that person, and thus was treated with great reverence. That reverence came with many responsibilities and rules she chafed against. So it was for much of her life, but things went downhill when she brought two outsiders here.”

 

“Sutter and I?” Jacob asked, certain he already knew the answer.

 

“Yes. You think you know the events that took place here, but trust me, you have no idea. It was already forbidden for her to have been involved physically with Sutter as she was, due to his outsider status and her being the Coronet Rosary. That was not what made the people turn on her.”

 

Confused and apprehensive of what would come next, Jacob tried to conceal his emotions by hiding his twitching hands behind his back. Looker, meanwhile, stared intently at the elderly historian, searching for any sign of Jacob knowing the truth. He couldn't help doing so, as his detective instincts were just too strong. Despite his best efforts to deduce what had happened, Jacob gave no obvious clues to it.

 

“In a way I pity her,” the Prophet continued, standing and facing the spring more rigidly than ever. “I understand why she would do what she did next, even if it was against our beliefs. That need to survive for someone else, no matter what… I’m a hypocrite to stand in judgment of her. Saeko’s sin that turned the people against her is the same as mine.”

 

At first, Jacob let out a sigh of relief, feeling the weight of his worst fears lift from his shoulders. _“It’s basically what I figured,”_ he thought, _“I should have stopped Sutter from-”_

 

Jacob’s mental dialogue stopped abruptly when he noticed the Prophet gingerly brushing her hand against her abdomen. Her words flashed through his mind again - _“That need to survive for someone else, no matter what… I’m a hypocrite to stand in judgment of her. Saeko’s sin that turned the people against her is the same as mine.”_ In an instant, the dread was back upon him, weighing ten times more than before.

 

“That someone else wasn’t Sutter, it was their…” Jacob trailed off.

 

“Needless to say, the Chiaki family tree would have been vastly different if our people weren’t so strict back then,” the Prophet coldly said, confirming Jacob’s suspicion. “And you never knew.”

 

Behind the Prophet, while the realization forced Jacob to take a step back in horror, Sylpha cocked her head. “I don’t understand…”

 

Kristos lowered himself to Sylpha’s height, put a hand over her ear and whispered to her. The man’s words made Sylpha freeze before  suddenly gasping aloud.

 

“D-did Sutter know?” Jacob finally stammered.

 

“Who knows? If he did, he must have lived the rest of his life with the burden of it kept a secret.” The Prophet brought her hand to a rest against her stomach, her voice starting to waver.

 

“You all know how it went from there. In the eyes of the leaders of the time, a Coronet Rosary bearing the child of an outsider meant that she was completely corrupted, an absolute fall from grace. Jacob, while you and Sutter were exiled from this place, they were going to punish her for her sin,” she said. “She escaped prior to her judgment and, in a desperate bid to survive, she broke into where a partial Jewel of Life was kept and swallowed it. The backlash from this caused massive amounts of corrupted Gaia to flood out, burning her from the inside out and turning the Tenganist holy land into the frozen wasteland you see today.”

 

By this point of the story, Sylpha had become overwhelmed and started sobbing into Kristos’ side. Jacob remained frozen in shock, while Looker stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and turned away. Pierce shook his head silently, deeply affected by what he heard, and pulled his mother and aunt closer to him.

 

Even Mewtwo seemed moved, although its response was significantly more muted. _“I admit that I feel I understand you more now,”_ it said to the Prophet, its eyes closed and tail flicking behind it.

 

As soon as he heard this, Jacob gasped and stumbled backward, his mind struck by something. Only Pierce noticed, and even then, he thought nothing of it.

 

_“Now explain to me what your goal is.”_

 

The Prophet barely moved. She only acknowledged Mewtwo’s demand by lifting her hand over the water before she spoke.

 

“As Kristos said earlier, the Life Orb is currently missing.” Her voice sounded nearly soulless and her audience other than Mewtwo had to struggle to hear her. “I want to find it and bring it here. This temple was built for another purpose.”

 

“That purpose, which is?” Looker asked, his interest piqued by the Prophet’s claim.

 

“Very few people throughout history have had the ability to create even a tiny piece of a Jewel of Life, and they all needed to have at least slivers of Arceus's plates to do it,” she explained. “This place and the Life Orb are our way around that.”

 

The Prophet moved the fingers on the hand she was holding over the water, and in response, a gentle green light emanated from deep within the spring. All the others, even Mewtwo, stared at the glow in surprise.

 

“This temple was built directly on a wellspring of Gaia,” she continued. “It taps directly into the energy flow, which lives on in this place even though it is currently minimized here by Saeko’s actions. We may not have the plates, but the Life Orb was also created by Arceus. My dream… we will recover the Life Orb, bring it here and use the temple's mechanisms to turn it into a genuine Jewel of Life. With that, we’ll bring our holy land completely back to life and build a permanent sanctuary where all Tenganists can live in safety forever.”

 

“We would really be able to start over in that kind of place,” Anthea said in awe. “Pierce, you and your friends must help make this happen.”

 

“That would be a great thing for us,” Pierce admitted, immediately realizing the hope the Prophet’s goal meant for them.

 

Mewtwo, meanwhile, looked down from midair at the Prophet, its features softening. _“I must acknowledge the nobility of your aims, even if I cannot agree with some of your methods. You wish to set right what went wrong here so you can protect those like you…just like I did...”_

 

Back on the ground, Looker scratched his chin and glanced at Jacob.  He recalled the meeting between the elderly archeologist and Matt’s group in Goldenrod City, where he’d personally first heard the Saeko Oryo story. Back then, Jacob had become unusually violent when he believed Matt and Nekou were searching for the Jewel of Life, but now, standing before someone who clearly stated her direct intent to obtain it, he was just staring slack-jawed at her. It was as if his mind had simply stopped working.

 

“Jacob?”

 

Instead of answering or even acknowledging the detective’s question, Jacob extended his right arm and began slowly walking toward the Prophet, visibly trembling from head to toe.

 

“I can’t believe I’ve been so blind,” Jacob uttered. “All this time and I only realize it now… Whatever happened to you after we last met, something kept you alive since then. I get it now. Even after everything you went through, you still want to put this land back to the way it was. You really are the hero they hoped you’d be when we first met. I’m sorry I didn't realize sooner, Saeko. I’m sorry I couldn't save you.”

 

The others watched as Jacob put his hand on the Prophet’s shoulder, stunned at his suggestion that she was, in fact, the figure they were supposed to never speak of.

 

 _“How would that even be possible?”_ Kristos thought. _“Wait… the Jewel of Life she swallowed… if she survived that somehow…”_

 

Several increasingly tense moments passed while the Prophet remained completely unresponsive to Jacob’s words. He wasn’t entirely surprised at her lack of reaction, but it quickly dawned on him that revealing her identity, even among trustworthy people, might have been a mistake.

 

Feeling remorseful but unsure of what to do to fix it,  he said, “Saeko, I'm so-”

 

Jacob never got a chance to finish his apology. He was cut off when the Prophet suddenly lashed around to him and punched him squarely in the face, knocking him down with her surprising strength. All around the pair, a flurry of gasps broke out, while Mewtwo shut its eyes and once again became silent. Looker immediately ran to Jacob’s aid and helped him sit up.

 

“That’s right, you should be sorry!” The Prophet’s voice was raw and strained, her screaming clearly reflecting the collapse of her facade of composure. All Jacob could do was stare up at her, totally lost as to what was happening. “You think I’m her? You seriously think I’m her?! After I brought you here and helped you recover from the train crash, _this_ is how you thank me?”

 

“But, I don't… I don’t understand…” Jacob stammered. “Even if you’re not her, Saeko was innocent… if you're like her, then so are-”

 

“I’m nothing like her!” The anger in the Prophet’s voice was becoming tainted by desperation. “Nothing!”

 

The Prophet pulled her leg back, but before she could kick Jacob, Sylpha and Kristos rushed to her side and pulled her away from him. She didn't struggle against them, but continued shouting.

 

“You can’t tell me I’m like her! You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through! You blame me and yet-”

 

“Please calm down!” Sylpha pleaded.

 

“It’s not my fault! It’s… it’s not my fault…” When her anger gave out, the Prophet was fully consumed by her despair. She went limp, slipped from her followers’ grasp and collapsed to the ground. “It’s not my fault… she chose. Saeko chose to do it. She had a choice... I didn’t. I was never given a choice, I didn’t get a choice… Ghetsis…”

 

Quickly understanding what the Prophet was saying, Kristos pulled Sylpha over to him and tried to cover her ears. Pierce, meanwhile, felt his blood run even colder when he realized the implications. His face contorted into a look of sheer horror much like Jacob’s and Looker’s, though the two of them said nothing.

 

“He didn’t…” Pierce said in shock.

 

“When he came to Michina…” Tears rolled down her face, eventually dropping off to make tiny spots on the ground. “I was the only one he left alive. I wish he would have just killed me like all the others… I felt like I died that day… why could I not just… I shouldn’t even tell you this. This is not your burden to shoulder…”

 

“But…”

 

Kristos’ attempt to intervene in the Prophet’s breakdown proved fruitless, as she started crying even harder.

 

“I made all of you take my pain onto yourselves!” she sobbed, further lowering her head and tightening her fists in the dirt. “I lied. I lied to all of you! I brought you all together to get my own revenge on Ghetsis, not to make a sanctuary! I only told you that so you’d want to help me! I have to pay the price for my actions, not any of you…”

 

All of a sudden, the Prophet felt the sensation of someone embracing her and stopped crying with a sharp breath. Sylpha, having slipped from Kristos’ grasp after hearing much of what her mentor confessed, was tightly hugging her.

 

“We’ve all suffered because of Ghetsis,” Sylpha gently said, a compassionate smile joining her words. “You saved us, now we’ll save you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

 

“S-Sylpha…” The Prophet wasn't crying anymore, but she was still overwhelmed by what she was hearing. “I can’t ask you to do this…”

 

“It’s for all of us,” Pierce said, “so we all should shoulder it.”

 

“He’s right!” Anthea piped up.

 

“Revenge on Ghetsis just makes fighting even more worth it!” Concordia forcefully added.

 

Looking around herself, the Prophet could barely believe what she was hearing and seeing. She had expected her own people to turn on her when they learned of her duplicitous motives, yet all around her she saw supportive, understanding faces.

 

 _“It’s like… home…”_ she thought. For the first time in what felt like forever, she thought of the familiar comforts of her hometown instead of the horrors Ghetsis carried out there. The support she found in Sylpha, Pierce and the others made her remember all her friends she’d grown up with. _“They’re gone now, but… I can do something to honor them, too…”_

 

After wiping away her tears, the Prophet felt her strength returning and stood back up. She immediately went to Jacob and extended a hand to help him up.

 

“I apologize for what I did,” she said to him. “Are you injured? I can ask Alesia to heal you if you need it.”

 

“It’s… fine, don’t worry about it.” As he said this, Jacob curled his nose several times. It did still hurt, but not badly enough that he wanted to bring it up. “I still don’t understand what's going on here. If you’re not Saeko, how do you know so much about the Jewel of Life and how to use it? Only someone who’s held one could possibly know such things.”

 

“I haven't held one, but I’ve seen one up close, and I was raised with a more intimate understanding of it than most. The leader of our people who received the first Jewel of Life, Damos, was my ancestor.”

 

Before speaking any further, the Prophet reached up and held the sides of her hood. She hesitated for a brief moment, but slowly lowered her hood, revealing her face to her followers and associates.

 

Though her brown hair was long, unkempt and not in the buns she once always kept it in, her appearance had otherwise not changed much since Matt painting the picture of her in his pocket watch.  The fire in her wide, blue eyes was still there.

 

“Looker, it’s nice to see you again. Everyone else, I’m pleased to meet you all. My name is Sheena.” As soon as she said her name, Sheena looked slightly away from the others and smiled to herself. “That felt really good, saying that…”

 

“Sheena,” Pierce addressed her. His prompt interruption silenced the others. “I need to speak to you about a rather urgent matter.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Instead of stating his concern out loud, Pierce quickly walked over to Sheena and leaned in close to her head.

 

“This isn’t the first time I’ve heard the name Azrael,” he whispered, causing Sheena’s eyes to widen when she heard it. “There is someone I think you should speak to as soon as possible.”

 

“We’ll move to a more private area,” Sheena replied, her tone turning completely serious again. “I want to talk to this person right away. Kristos… take Anthea and Concordia to get something to eat. Looker, Jacob, I’m taking you two with me.”

 

“What about me?” Sylpha asked. “Don’t leave me out!”

 

At first, Sheena did not respond. She was so torn over what to do that she couldn't even look at Sylpha. “You’re still just a child,” she finally said, “and you are one of my people. I have a duty to protect you.”

 

“You trusted me with the truth about Saeko Oryo and you told me all about Dark Matter,” the young Tenganist countered.

 

“That is fair enough,” Sheena acknowledged. “You can come.”

 

The humans soon departed, leaving Mewtwo alone in the cavern. Once by itself, it deftly landed on the edge of the spring and gazed out over the life-giving water.

 

 _“Dark Matter…”_ it mused, narrowing its eyes as it did so. _“A force capable of infiltrating minds like a parasite…”_

 

-:-

 

“...the prince left his kingdom behind and was never seen by the people again. Where did he go? None of us ever knew. What we did know was that wherever he had gone, the creature was with him. That which so many of us feared, he loved and protected. We knew that for as long as he lived, he would always stand by its side.”

 

Nekou wasted no time in turning to the next page, only realizing then that it was the last one. She did not find the words she expected, however. Instead, what greeted her was a vivid illustration of a strange, translucent creature. It looked like a squid or jellyfish, but with star shapes lining its head.

 

“That thing…” Nekou said to herself in surprise. “That’s what the story was about?”

 

For a time, Nekou kept the book open and examined the illustration, trying to memorize every detail of the strangely enticing image. Marie and Zorua nudged at her arm and broke her from her reverie.

 

“Oh, sorry, you two,” she apologized to the pair, petting each on the head to their pleasure. She then closed the volume in her lap, took a sip from the beer can she had open, and peered out the window.

 

When she saw the orange evening sky, she did a double take.

 

“Have I been doing this all day?” Nekou asked herself, her eyes moving back to the book in her lap. “That doesn't usually happen… and I didn’t…” Her words caught in her throat when the incidents of the previous day came back to her mind. “...I didn’t worry about all that sh _i_ t today…”

 

Once again, her attention turned to the world outside the window.

 

“I have to thank him… his book, after all.”

 

-:-

 

After leaving the underground spring, Sheena brought Jacob, Looker and Pierce to her personal quarters, where they awaited Sylpha’s return from her own task. To pass time, Sheena started recounting her own stories.

 

“That’s right, Jacob, Looker and I first met five years ago. Back then, it was Matt and I traveling with Olivia and her parents.”

 

“So much has happened while I’ve been inside,” Jacob said with a self-deprecating laugh.

 

“And going back in you are, at the earliest opportunity,” Looker sternly warned him.

 

“I never said otherwise,” Jacob countered, recoiling from the finger Looker thrust in his face. “You don’t have to worry about that…”

 

A sudden giggle interrupted them, and the two men turned to see Sheena doing a poor job of hiding a smirk behind her hand. Though stunned at first, both Jacob and Looker soon found the levity too much to resist and laughed as well.

 

Sitting nearby with his arms crossed, Pierce commented, “Lady Sheena, I’ve never seen you laugh like that. Your sense of humor is darker than I thought.”

 

“I’m sorry, I'm sorry,” Sheena said, waving her hand dismissively. “I know it’s a bit of gallows humor. I just couldn't help myself… I haven’t felt like having a good laugh in such a long time.”

 

Just then, Sylpha entered the room, carrying a tray with a teapot and several cups on it. “It’s teatime!” she cheerfully announced.

 

Sheena stood and gestured for Sylpha to join the others. “Thank you, Sylpha. I'm sure they will enjoy it.” Peering over her shoulder, Sheena said to Pierce, Looker and Jacob, “Teas are something that cross boundaries throughout our culture, but Sylpha makes some of the best I’ve tasted.”

 

“Aw, thanks…” Sylpha said, a hint of redness flaring up in her face.

 

“It’s true,” Sheena complimented, smiling. She then looked over her shoulder again and said to Pierce, “You don’t have to call me ‘lady.’ Just Sheena is fine.”

 

“You’re our leader,” Pierce replied, “but if you say so…”

 

“Anyway, now that we’re all here, it’s about time you introduced me to this contact of yours.”

 

Even as he followed Sheena’s directions and moved to stand before his audience, Pierce felt dizzy. His anxiety had been building ever since the conference in the underground spring over what he knew was coming. He truly wished against all hope that he would learn his fears were unfounded, but he knew quite well that wouldn't happen.

 

After one last glance back at Sheena and the others, who had all collected their own shares of the tea, he reached into his coat pocket and produced a small cube. Upon activation, a holographic keyboard was projected from its front, allowing Pierce to enter more intricate commands.

 

A second hologram materialized, this one projected from the top of the cube. It showed Team Rocket’s insignia, which soon gave way to the scruffy, aged face of Dr. Zager.

 

“Doctor,” Pierce addressed him.

 

“Pierce,” Zager acknowledged. He sounded tired and far from comfortable. “I read what you reported…”

 

“Yes, well, let me introduce you to the leader of the people I belong to.”

 

Pierce gestured for Sheena to step forward, and she did so without hesitation.

 

“My name is Sheena,” she announced. Jacob and Looker were both struck by how strongly she did so. Only a relatively short time had passed since she first said her name to them. “As Pierce said, I lead the Tenganists opposing Polaris.”

 

“And I am Dr. Zager, Team Rocket scientist.”

 

An awkward silence settled over the room as, for a time, neither Zager nor Sheena knew what to say.

 

It was Sheena that finally broke the impasse. “I heard Pierce mention a report. What did he tell you?”

 

Before he answered, Zager exhaled deeply. He avoided looking directly into the camera on his side of the call even when he began speaking.

 

“Pierce told me your people once fought against an extra-dimensional force called Dark Matter, which tried to end everything by fusing with a human to create a prophet called Azrael. Is this all correct?”

 

“Five thousand years ago, yes,” Sheena affirmed.

 

“Tell me then, young lady, what is Dark Matter? Physically, I mean. As the leader of your people, you ought to know. Am I wrong?”

 

Pierce watched Sheena carefully to see how she would react. Unaware of his attention, she lowered her head.

 

“There are only writings now. With how much time has passed, it’s not clear just how literally descriptions of these events can be taken, at least in a physical sense.”

 

“What do those writings say, then?” Zager pressed her.

 

“Even if I quoted them directly, it would be difficult to answer that,” Sheena admitted. “There is no clear physical description that I can point right to. The most common theme among the writings is that of an amorphous dark substance, sometimes like a mist or cloud, others a mold-like mass or a hard shell.”

 

Immediately upon hearing this, Zager shut his eyes. “From the moment I read Pierce’s report, this is exactly what I was afraid of.”

 

“What are you saying?” Sheena demanded. Behind her, Pierce had since turned away, while Jacob, Looker and Sylpha listened nervously.

 

“I…” Zager finally looked straight into his camera, allowing Sheena and the others to see his eyes directly. They were mirrors of his shame and fear, giving him the look of a man haunted by something truly horrible. “I was once a member of Polaris, decades ago. They recruited me out of the Pokémon Institute while I was a student hungry for funding and attention. I was all too eager to do what they tasked me with as long as I got what I wanted… Sheena, what they made me do was nothing less than create life. What was I given as base materials to work with? Genetic material from a human subject, female, maybe about fourteen years of age or so. They never told me who she was. That, and a small container… I was told to mix the contents of that container into the genetic sequence I was to create. I never understood how it was meant to work, but it did, and that was the key… that accursed dark substance, Polaris’ Azrael Project needed it.”

 

“No,” Sheena had started mumbling over and over, even before Zager was done. The end of his statement brought stress-fueled pacing onto her as well. “No, no, no, no… this cannot… this just can’t be real…”

 

“It is,” Pierce chimed in, his voice as icy as the wasteland beyond the temple and caves. “I first heard the name Azrael long ago, but I did not know its true significance until today.”

 

“Dark Matter wasn’t totally gone after the war five thousand years ago…” Sheena concluded out loud for all in her increasingly fearful audience to hear. “Not if Polaris somehow got even a tiny amount of it to give to you… if there was only a sliver of it, it might not have sentience, but even that much could be enough to taint a human if fused with their genes… and if creating Azrael was their goal, then she is alive right now…”

 

Sylpha pulled at Sheena’s arm, unable to cope with the terror she was experiencing. After everything she’d already heard about Dark Matter and Azrael, knowing that they existed in the present forced her to cry. She didn't know what else to do. “What’s going to happen to us? Are we going to...”

 

“Ssh. Don’t say such things.” Sheena tried to reassure her, not only with words but by embracing her and gently patting her head. Even while doing this, she was torn up internally, unable to decide if it would have been better to hide truth from Sylpha. To force her scattered thoughts into some sort of order, she set her attention squarely on Zager.

 

“We must make preparations to destroy Azrael at once,” Sheena declared.

 

“I thought of that long ago,” Zager wearily countered. “We cannot kill her. I fear that if she were to be killed, only her humanity would perish. What would remain would be nothing but Azrael…”

 

“You speak as if you know the new Azrael personally.”

 

“I do. Not only did I create her, I was tasked with raising her. Around the time of her fourteenth birthday, I managed to erase her memories, escape Polaris and spirit her away. Ever since then, I have seen to it that she is under Team Rocket’s protection. I have always believed that if we keep her comfortable her programming may never activate.”

 

“It’s a risk, but it does make a certain amount of sense,” Sheena conceded. “Even saying that, though… there will always be a risk that Dark Matter could return due to her existence. There’s only one course of action I can think of… we have to get the Life Orb now even more than ever. Five thousand years ago, Dark Matter was sealed away using it, so at worst we can do the same thing again. If we can turn it into a Jewel of Life, we may even be able to destroy Dark Matter. Then everyone wins.”

 

While Sheena and Zager talked, Jacob found himself increasingly disturbed by what he was hearing. _“I don’t understand any of this,”_ he thought, reflexively pressing his fingers into his temples due to an intensifying headache. _“Dark Matter, Azrael, the Jewel of Life… how did I get mixed up in all this? It was bad enough before I knew these things…”_

 

Looker, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably where he sat. Jacob glanced over at the detective just in time to see him scratching his chin, as he was so often wont to do when lost in thought.

 

“What do you make of this?” Jacob asked him.

 

“If Polaris is indeed searching for a way to bring this Dark Matter into a state of revival,” Looker reasoned aloud, “then it is my impulse to guess that their desires are the same as those of it. Beginning I am to think that Polaris wishes to hand over the world to the Dark Matter for destruction, not anything involving a revolution against the Pokémon League. And if that is the case… the Team Rocket, the Tenganist Liberation Front, we of the International Police, we all oppose the same thing. Our enemy is a common one, taking the form of Polaris.” Looker stood and planted his hands deep in his coat pockets. “I do not have the knowledge of what to do. If we are all on the same side, I am possessing the ability to see that, but my apprentices… caught in the middle they will be, and unwilling to compromise as well.”

 

-:-

 

A short distance from his mobile home, Matt was seated on a tree stump next to a campfire, with which he was cooking something in a small pot. The late evening air was still and quiet, so much so that the crackling of the fire was the only sound to hear.

 

With time to fill, he reached into his bag, retrieved his pocket watch and opened it to the painting of Sheena.

 

“If I hadn't let my obsessions consume me you might still be alive,” he mused in a voice completely devoid of emotion. “It’s all my fault… again…”

 

The near silence was broken by the sound of leaves crunching beneath someone’s feet as they approached the clearing. Matt heard them, but didn't react at all right away, instead choosing to simply continue considering the painting.

 

“Hey.”

 

Matt finally reacted once he heard Nekou’s voice addressing him, closing the watch and putting it away.

 

“What is it?” he asked without facing her. “Looks like you’re feeling better.”

 

“That’s kind of why I came looking for you,” Nekou responded. Starting toward where Matt was sitting, she continued, “Where’s Olivia and everyone else?”

 

“Still out training I suppose.”

 

“Keeping busy, it sounds like,” she said as she sat down next to him. When she saw the pot on the fire, her eyes lit up. “What's on the menu?”

 

“Just some Mauville Ramen,” Matt glumly replied. “Ate the stuff non-stop when I was in school, so I’m still pretty hooked on it. I can share if you want some.”

 

“I’d like that.”

 

“Okay then.” Once he had a chance to think about the conversation, Matt stopped and finally turned to Nekou. “You don’t sound like yourself… are you sure you’re alright?”

 

“I’m better than I would have been if I didn't get to spend all day reading.”

 

At that, Nekou took the book, which she’d had her arms wrapped around, and pushed it toward its owner. Seeing it brought Matt out of his stupor, and he eagerly snapped it up.

 

“Of everything you could have found in there, it was this…” Even though it belonged to him, he couldn't tear his eyes off the book’s cover, as if he’d never seen it before. “This is… something very important to me.”

 

“I spent all day reading it,” Nekou told him with a sincerity unusual for her. “Kept my mind off all the sh _i_ t from yesterday. So… thank you.”

 

“That’s more like the Nekou I know,” Matt said, laughing gently to himself.

 

“The Matt I know isn’t the type to love a story like this so much.” Nekou adjusted her glasses as she spoke, and found herself unable to resist a small smile of her own. “Enlighten me on what I clearly don’t know.”

 

“My grandfather gave me this,” Matt explained, still unable to look away from the tome’s ornate cover. “It’s an older translation directly from the original language… he gave it to me when I was still young. The story always fascinated me, and it wasn’t just me. Amanda used to love when I read it to her… the time I got to spend reading to her is one of the few completely happy memories I have from back then. That’s why that book is so important to-”

 

Matt stopped talking mid-sentence when Nekou put her head on his shoulder. He couldn't see that her eyes were closed or that she was smiling, but he could imagine it. Though he was initially surprised by her actions, he quickly relaxed and made no effort to move her.

 

“Who knew you had this side?” she said. “I want to find out more.”

 

“It looks like you’ve got some secrets of your own.” Matt shifted himself, but still did nothing to move Nekou’s head. In fact, after he moved, she settled in even more comfortably than before.

 

Their peace did not last long, however. Mere moments later, loud rustling in the bushes ahead of them caught both of their attention. Even that didn’t get Nekou to move, despite her becoming much more alert.

 

“Who’s there?” Matt called out toward the noise.

 

Multiple possibilities of who was approaching cycled through Nekou’s mind. Members of Team Plasma. The Shadow Triad. Other agents of Polaris. All of them sounded to her like candidates for who could be about to emerge.

 

It ultimately turned out to be none of them. The shape of a rotting tree appeared from the brush, and both Matt and Nekou recognized it immediately.

 

“A Trevenant?” Nekou exclaimed. “But why the f _[u]u[/u]_ ck is one here?”

 

When the Trevenant stopped approaching them and stared at them with sadness in his eye instead of menacing them, Matt realized what was going on.

 

“When I was at the Battle Hall, I overheard that scientist, Colress, talking to one of my other opponents, Dino. I heard Dino say he was going to release the Trevenant he used against me because it didn’t pass their experiment, or something.” Addressing the Trevenant directly, Matt asked, “You’re that Trevenant, aren’t you? And you want me to help, right?”

 

Plating his root-like feet firmly in the ground, Trevenant grumbled an affirmation to Matt’s questions.

 

-:-

 

A bright sun hung in a clear sky over Route 38 the next day. The same clearing where Matt and Nekou had their conversation was far less peaceful than it was the previous evening, having become the site of a heated battle between Olivia and a camper she’d encountered while heading out to train with Avril and Monroe. Sparks flew from the clash of Olivia’s Mareep’s Thunderbolt and the camper’s Mothim’s Silver Wind, making the siblings shield their eyes as they watched.

 

“You’re doing great, Mareep!” Olivia shouted in encouragement, eliciting a self-satisfied snicker from the Electric-type. “Use Thunderbolt again!”

 

Another bolt of electricity sparked to life from Mareep’s wool. Before it could arc through the air and strike Mothim, the camper called out to him, “Dodge it with Lunge!”

 

Mothim twisted around in the air, managing to barely avoid Mareep’s Thunderbolt. He then threw himself toward her; his tackle scored a direct hit, but the electricity in Mareep’s wool spread into his body, paralyzing Mothim.

 

“Static!” the camper realized, his recognition of Mareep’s ability coming too late.

 

“We can win this now, Mareep! Iron Tail!”

 

There was no hesitation on Mareep’s part to follow Olivia’s direction. Before Olivia had even finished speaking, Mareep’s tail had taken on a metallic shine, and she whipped around to strike Mothim down with it. Before either Olivia or the camper could react further, however, Mareep pinned the nearly-fainted Mothim to the ground and began gathering energy for another Thunderbolt.

 

In an instant, Olivia’s excitement turned to dismay. “Mareep, that’s enough! You don’t have to do that!”

 

When it became apparent that Mareep wasn’t listening, Olivia was forced to take out her Poké Ball and recall her. The camper went to his Mothim’s side right away, and Olivia soon joined him.

 

“That Mareep of yours is really strong,” he said to her while helping Mothim up. “But why is it so aggressive?”

 

“I… I don’t know, really,” Olivia admitted, frowning. “I’m trying to work with her, but we only recently connected and she loves fighting and…” Finding herself running out of words, Olivia sighed. “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

 

“Mothim, are you feeling fine?”

 

Mothim nodded to his trainer, and to further demonstrate his recovery, he fluttered his wings enough to rise into the air. What strength he had only kept him aloft for a short time, and he shrank back in disappointment when he returned to the ground.

 

“Don’t worry yourself too much, Mothim,” the camper said to his Pokémon while petting his head, which cheered him up. Shifting his attention to Olivia, the camper took some money from his pocket and handed it to her. “Here, you and Mareep earned it. Have a good one.”

 

The camper lowered himself and allowed Mothim to climb onto his head. When they left, Olivia watched them disappear down the path. A feeling of guilt nagged at her, and she looked down at the paper money in her hand. Ghetsis’ thundering words reran in her head.

 

_“And as you know, the losing trainer in a battle must pay an amount of prize money to the winner! To the victor goes the spoils, but what goes to the loser?”_

 

Olivia frowned. She knew she hated Polaris, hated Ghetsis, Team Plasma and everything else related to them, but what they said still ate at her.

 

-:-

 

“Say what?!”

 

Had Jessie, James and Meowth screamed any louder, they could have woken the dead. It certainly was a good thing that Team Rocket’s base was in a busy area of Olivine City; had they been in a quieter neighborhood, those in their immediate surroundings would surely have heard them. As it stood, only their colleagues in Team Rocket’s secret bar were aware of their reactions. The air in the room was thick with emotion, but the trio of agents were the only ones openly exploding.

 

“You heard what we told you,” Stacia said, her voice even more frigid and emotionless than usual. The light from the secretary’s computer filled her glasses, hiding her eyes from those speaking to her via hologram.

 

“He’s not gone! He can’t be!” James cried out in desperation.

 

“With Giovanni gone, the only thing we can do is continue his work.” Sitting against the bar, Proton crossed his arms, only to immediately uncross them again. He remained fixated on the curves in the wood grain floor the entire time. “And for us to do that we should act like he’s still here.”

 

Jessie sharply turned and yelled, “Shut up!” Her blatant act of insubordination made Ada, Trevor and Petrel stare, agape at her disrespect for a superior, but Proton mostly ignored it himself.

 

“Yeah!” Meowth added. “No way did that pointy-haired, black cloaked musical demon really take our boss out!”

 

“You are going to have to accept reality,” Pierce firmly said, addressing the bar from the Sinjoh Ruins via a second hologram. “I witnessed it with my own eyes. Giovanni is gone.”

 

“Giovanni is gone…” Ariana emptily repeated. She was sitting away from the others, her back turned to them. “He’s gone, so we must look at the continuation of our leadership. Stacia… you were his closest advisor and aide. You are in a better position than any of us to take his place.”

 

“I can…” For an incredibly brief moment, Stacia’s voice faltered. “I can only do so much from where I am. You are the one out in the field, Ariana. I trust that you can lead in executing the next anti-Polaris operation that’s been drafted. I’ll see that you promptly receive all the information so you can begin coordinating with Dr. Zag-”

 

Stacia’s hologram vanished in the middle of her sentence. Unbeknownst to the others, the Rocket’s finger had slipped over the button to hang up, leaving most of them to presume that her terminal malfunctioned. Jessie, however, immediately felt slighted and stomped her foot on the floor.

 

“Well we don’t take orders from any bob-haired four-eyes either!” she spat, her sharp declaration directed at no one in particular, before turning around and storming out of the room. James followed her without a word.

 

“Only the boss is the boss!” Meowth added before joining his human companions in leaving.

 

“I’ll go get them,” Proton bitterly said. He started toward the door only to be stopped by Ariana extending a hand in front of him.

 

“Don’t bother,” she told him. “They’ll come back. For now we have to just work on planning the mission.”

 

“Ariana, wait. I have something to say.”

 

Pierce’s unexpected interjection brought the attention of not only Ariana but all the other Team Rocket members in the room to his hologram. Seeing this, he had to look away from them. What he had in mind was something he’d spent considerable time thinking about since hearing Sheena’s story, but he knew his allies might have trouble understanding.

 

 _“It has to be said,”_ he finally decided. Clearing his throat, Pierce directly faced the rest of his team, though he trained much of his attention on Ariana directly. “The leader of the TLF, Shee…” Pierce quickly stopped himself before revealing Sheena’s name. He masked his error with a cough to buy time for choosing his words more carefully. “...she has told me of her group’s objective. They aim to obtain the missing Life Orb and transform it into a Jewel of Life so that they may restore their holy land and build a sanctuary state for all Tenganists there. For now, their mission intertwines with our own, but when the time comes that such a refuge is established, I wish to resign from Team Rocket and live there with the rest of my family…” The next words represented a concept so alien to Pierce that he found himself having some trouble saying them. “...in peace.”

 

“What are we supposed to do if we lose even more members?” Ada wondered, her face twisting into a look of pure terror. “We already are low on manpower for dealing with Polaris…”

 

“Don’t worry about that,” Pierce said. “As I told you, our goals overlap. I won’t be going anywhere until Polaris is destroyed.”

 

Trevor sighed and shook the glass in his hand. “Rosalie, you’ve got to have something to say about this.”

 

“What is there to say, exactly?” the scientist said between draws on her pipe. “Destroying Polaris is all that matters right now. We all saw what Ghetsis did in Ecruteak City, and that was just him. Can you imagine what they can do when they act at full force? If Pierce wants to leave after this is over, who are we to keep him from his family?”

 

“You’re certainly right about that,” Ada conceded, though she continued to fidget nervously. “I guess we can’t worry about what happens afterward, but…”

 

-:-

 

Meanwhile, in Giovanni’s headquarters, Stacia pushed herself away from her computer and leaned back in her floral patterned chair. The large screen was the only source of significant illumination in her room, casting light on her ornate furniture and poster-lined walls.

 

Her solitude was interrupted when Persian pushed her door open and meowed loudly. Giovanni’s beloved pet had been sent to Stacia’s care prior to the final stage of Operation Atlas for his safety, and he knew something was wrong.

 

Stacia slowly turned her chair around. With the glow from the monitor no longer reflecting in her glasses, her eyes could be seen. They were dull and almost completely devoid of life, yet when she saw Persian a broken smile appeared on her face.

 

“Don’t worry, Persian, everything’s going to be okay. Once I finish this report and file it with Mister Giovanni, everything will be back to normal.” She cocked her head and repeated, “Everything will be back to normal…”

 

-:-

 

With Olivia, Monroe and Avril busy elsewhere, Matt, Nekou and Bunny took some time to rest. They turned to a news broadcast looking for information on anything else possibly taking place.

 

 _“And now we move on to the news electrifying the media world right now,”_ the anchor read, _“the announcement of a new international network by Lysandre Labs president Lysandre Flordelis and Angel Corporation head Gabriella Bouchard.”_

 

“What’s this now?” Matt said, pausing between sips of the coffee he’d prepared for the three of them. “I never knew she was working on this…”

 

“I don’t think any of us did.” Nekou was stretched across the couch again, but in far more comfort than before, allowing her to be more like herself. “These businesses always do their big deals undercover.”

 

“Another big expansion…” Bunny mumbled into her cup. _“Clean energy and now a huge mass media expansion? I don’t have a good feeling about this. Matt’s in the middle of it, too, so all of us are too by extension...”_

 

Up on the screen, the broadcast continued. _“We caught up with the two masterminds of this new project to get their thoughts.”_

 

The image changed to one of Lysandre and Gabriella walking in a huge, ornate room alongside the camera filming them. A reporter, partially out of view, was following them with a microphone.

 

 _“We are very excited to tell the world about Flare Network,”_ the broadly smiling Lysandre explained.

 

 _“That’s FlareNet for short,”_ Gabriella interrupted, barely able to contain her visible excitement. _“We had to have a snappy brand name for our big new project, right? Everyone will remember it!”_

 

“Well she’s the same as always,” Matt dryly observed.

 

 _“Yes, yes, of course it’s memorable,”_ Lysandre said, waving his hand in Gabriella’s direction. _“We are planning to officially launch in five days, and there will be an inaugural broadcast from the plaza outside Angel Tower. I will be giving a speech then, in which I intend to announce some other very important new projects our newly joined companies shall be developing for the good of the world.”_

 

_“Do you have any statements on the nature of these projects, Miss Bouchard?”_

 

 _“Cat’s got my tongue!”_ As if demonstrating her point, Gabriella playfully stuck her tongue out at the reporter. _“You’ll find out everything in five days, just be patient.”_

 

The reporter couldn’t resist a tiny laugh. _“You’re as entertaining as ever, Miss Bouchard. We’ll look forward to it. Now, one more question if I may, Mister Flordelis. Your company, Lysandre Labs, has multiple markets cornered in Kalos. Broadcasting, computer technology, high fashion, those are just three examples. What prompts a man with such influence to come all the way across the ocean to Kanto and merge with a company based here?”_

 

 _“To put it simply, the Angel Corporation has the resources to help me make my own dreams come true,”_ Lysandre explained. He gestured grandly at his surroundings, a palatial, cavernous lobby cut largely from black marble. _“Look around you. The Angel Corporation built this great complex using wealth accrued doing good for the health of this world. The pharmaceutical wing of this company allowed it to grow and provide other things needed to improve the planet, like cleaner energy resources. You see, my dream is to create a world that exists in a beautiful and peaceful state. By joining my own resources with those of the Angel Corporation, we can accomplish that goal together. FlareNet is one part of that. By bringing the world closer toget-”_

 

Bunny abruptly shut the television off and slammed the remote on the table, startling Matt and Nekou. “I don’t like this at all,” she grumbled, scowling,

 

“What do you mean?” Matt asked her.

 

“The Angel Corporation getting deep into so many different fields, I don’t like it. They’re involved with a huge share of the world’s energy supplies, they have significant holdings in the financial sector, I could lose myself in listing it all. And now it sounds like they’ve created a monopoly over the media? You know what they say about absolute power, it corrupts absolutely. And after we met him in Goldenrod, I don’t trust Lysandre at all. I think something bad is happening with the Angel Corporation and we’re being pulled into it.”

 

“I can’t say I disagree with what you say,” Matt mumbled, staring into a sketchbook he’d taken out, “but Lysandre isn’t in charge of it, Gabriella is, and we both know she wouldn’t hurt a fly. If any corruption begins to unfold, though, she has the business sense to crack down on it. She didn't get to her position by doing nothing.”

 

Bunny silently glared at Matt from the corner of her eye. _“He means well, but he’s always so naive… I guess he never changes.”_ Sighing, Bunny stood up and started toward the door. “I’ll go check on Olivia. If she wants something I’ll tell you.”

 

“Okay, Bunny, thanks!” Matt called after her as she left.

 

As soon as she was alone with him, Nekou pushed herself up off the couch and swayed over to Matt’s side.

 

“I hope you like it,” he said to her when he noticed the coffee in her hand.

 

“It’s alright, but you know Sonata Coffee? I love that. Drank it all the time in Unova, just like you and your ramen. Get that.”

 

“When we get to Olivine City I’ll get some, don’t worry.”

 

Returning his attention to the sketchbook, Matt started drawing in it with a pencil. Intrigued by what he was doing, Nekou sat down on the arm of his chair and looked over his shoulder. He continued working without reaction to her presence, so she watched him draw quietly for some time.

 

“What’cha drawing?” she finally asked.

 

“Where we ate last night. Remember, the clearing?” Matt held up the book so Nekou could better see the sketch. “I want to paint it, so I’m planning things out first.”

 

“Is there a reason for that?” When Matt didn’t answer, Nekou realized he wasn’t taking her question seriously and grew visibly frustrated, driving her free hand into the arm of the chair. “I mean it, I really want to know!”

 

“You know I paint, you’ve seen me doing it.”

 

“But why?”

 

“Honestly…” Matt put down his pencil, leaned back and closed his eyes. “I started painting things for Amanda.”

 

~:~

 

The world was a very different, much more peaceful place over a decade earlier. In times of trouble the regional Pokémon Leagues were trusted to restore order, and as far as the public saw, they did. There was crime and there was unrest, but without Polaris’ open provocations, most lived in a state of blissful ignorance.

 

So it was for the Chiaki siblings as well. Enrolled in the Rustboro School under the care of their grandfather Sutter, their lives were quiet and uneventful then. Many might have found it boring, but after running away from home and the ordeal that unfolded afterward, the peace gave them the closest thing to happiness they could get.

 

One night after classes ended, they had traveled from the school to a convenience store in the city, searching for snacks. Their quest ended with Amanda waiting in her wheelchair for her brother, holding a pile of small plastic bags in her lap. Matt was nearby, fumbling for change to feed a vending machine. He eventually found enough to get a pair of drinks and returned to Amanda.

 

“Amanda,” he said to get her attention, “here’s your Moomoo Milk.”

 

She took the bottle from him, but frowned in his direction and said, “Matt, please tell me you got something for yourself too.”

 

Amanda’s concern was well placed, even if she was wrong in that specific instance. Matt’s uniform, though similar to hers with its blue colors and diamond patterns, hung on him. At that time he was remarkably frail, and even though his complexion was less pale than in the present, his poor care for himself made him generally look sickly.

 

“Don’t worry,” he assured his sister as he sat down on the bench next to her wheelchair, “I did.”

 

“I have to worry about you. Viktor told me you haven't been eating when you work late in Dr. Graceland’s shop sometimes.”

 

“I wish he’d just let me be,” Matt sighed. “Right now I just want to relax and enjoy these Lava Cookies.”

 

“He means well.” Leaving it at that, Amanda held one of the bags toward Matt. “Let’s dig in.”

 

The siblings sat together and ate their cookies in calm silence. Though she had no idea about it, Matt couldn’t stop himself from watching Amanda while she cheerfully enjoyed the snack.

 

 _“You won’t have to ever suffer again,”_ he thought, _“I promise. I’ll protect you and fix everything...:”_

 

“It’s such a nice night,” Amanda said, making Matt jump as he was snapped out of his thoughts. “So warm…”

 

“Yeah...yeah, it is.” Matt sipped at his bottle of milk and lazily turned his eyes toward the sky. What he saw awed him.

 

A figurative galaxy of stars spread out in the crystal-clear sky. The glowing ‘Thrifty Megamart’ sign over them and the street lamp near the bench could not dilute the sight, nor could anything else, even the lights from the rest of Rustboro City.

 

“It’s so beautiful…” The moment these words left Matt’s mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. Seeing Amanda facing him, visibly confused, only crushed him further. “I’m sorry, Amanda… I’m so sorry! Please, forgive me!”

 

“Matt, please! I’m not upset! Just tell me what you’re talking about, that’s enough for me.”

 

“It’s… it’s…” The shock of what he blamed himself for doing left Matt unable to directly answer Amanda’s request. “It’s just… the sky, it’s so clear and full of stars. I haven’t seen a sky like this since before we left Snowpoint. I shouldn’t have said anything… it’s not fair to you. I can see it, you can’t…”

 

“It’s okay for me to hear you talk about it. Don’t beat yourself up.” While carefully holding down the pile of cookie bags on her lap with one arm, Amanda reached over and felt around until she found Matt’s hand. “You know what? It doesn’t bother me because I can remember all those times I saw the stars before the accident. They don’t change even while we do… so I know that what I remember is still there.”

 

~:~

 

“What she said to me that day has always stuck with me.” Matt had long since stopped drawing, instead tightly clutching the sketchbook while talking to Nekou. “I think about it all the time… to have things you can hold onto with certainty, knowing that they’ll be there no matter what happens to you… I paint things because images don’t change, and I started because I swore I’d figure out some way to restore her sight. Until then I paint things so she can see them one day.”

 

“That’s really sweet of you, I mean it. You keep surprising me.” Nekou slid off the armrest into the seat of the chair, pushing herself directly into Matt’s side. “Think you can paint me sometime?” she asked with a wry grin. “You can keep me around so she can see me any time, after all.”

 

“Something tells me you want _me_ to have a painting of you.”

 

“Maayyybe…” Nekou’s grin widened into a full-fledged smile. “I guess _you_ know _me_ more than I expected.”

 

-:-

 

“You can see that Ghetsis and Polaris anticipated some of our moves, lessening their effectiveness. Overall, though, in terms of results the competence level of our operatives must be rated at an above average level.” Stacia held her body rigidly still, bending her arm at the elbow to push her glasses up. The lights in Giovanni’s office filled their lenses, obscuring her eyes. “Each of our squads performed well in keeping their opponents in check, though it cannot be ignored that outside forces intervened in our favor. For that reason, I am proposing that a plan be developed to continue keeping Matt Chiaki and the circle of people connected to him under our influence. Admin Lalume should be useful for that purpose.”

 

Stacia stopped, took a breath, and allowed herself a tiny smile.

 

“Do you agree, Mister Giovanni?”

 

No response.

 

“I understand you need time to think, but we must quickly approve a plan to continue combating Polaris, sir.”

 

There was still no response, only silence. Dead, bone-chilling silence.

 

“E-Everything’s all right, sir?”

 

Stacia tilted her head slightly, her composure starting to crack. It was inevitable that she’d fall apart eventually - she couldn't go on talking to an empty chair forever. The harsh reality it represented could not be escaped. As the weight of Giovanni’s demise crashed down on her, she crumpled to the floor and started to cry.

 

“What am I supposed to do?!” she wailed. “I don’t know what do on my own! _What am I supposed to-_ ”

 

Stacia was abruptly cut off when an unseen force seized her body. She slammed her eyes shut and brought her hands to her head, desperately trying to fight it off.

 

“No, not again! Not now! Just let me go… let me…” The force soon won out over her attempts to control it, and when she slowly reopened her eyes, they were glowing. “I see…” she droned, “...what I have to do.”

 

-:-

 

As Matt slowly roused from his slumber, he was greeted by the sound of a downpour on HR-E’s windshield. He blinked several times to focus his vision. Some movement in his sofa bed had woken him.

 

“Just go back to sleep.” It was Nekou, as he’d already realized. “I’m not bothering you.”

 

“You sound pretty bothered yourself, though.”

 

Nekou’s restless shifting around confirmed his thoughts. Something was wrong. He’d known her long enough to tell.

 

“I wish I could get one f _u_ cking night of peaceful sleep…”

 

Hearing the distress in her voice got him to roll over and face her. “Want to talk about it? You sound pretty upset…”

 

“Lying here listening to the rain is nice enough.” Nekou’s attempt at evasion left her unsatisfied, and she sighed, frustrated by it. “I had a nightmare, but it felt so real, almost like a memory. I was on the streets of Lumiose City being chased by… something. I… I don’t know, it felt like escaping was a matter of life and death.”

 

“I’ve had nightmares like that before. Usually it’s Snowpoint and-”

 

“No, dipsh _i_ t, you don’t understand!” Nekou snapped. “Lumiose is the capital of Kalos. I’ve never _been_ to Kalos in my life! The dream felt so real, it was like I was reliving a life I’ve _never_ lived at all!”

 

“I…” Matt suddenly understood exactly why Nekou was so troubled. Just thinking about the idea disturbed him. Living someone else’s life reminded him far too much of what he’d gone to terrible lengths to escape himself. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand. It’s actually kind of funny… I guess we’re more alike than either of us wants to admit.”

 

“Guess so.”

 

“You don’t have to worry about it, Nekou,” Matt said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. “You know, there’s a hotel in Lumiose all the travel magazines say is one of the best of the best. After all this nonsense with Polaris is over, let’s go there and replace those nightmares with real memories, you and me.” Matt reached out and put his hand on Nekou's shoulder. “Alright?”

 

There was an awkward pause in the conversation, the silence broken only by the harsh rain. Nekou stared face-to-face at Matt, for what seemed like an eternity before violently turning her back on him when what he was saying sank in.

 

“What the f _u_ ck is wrong with you?!” The anguish in her voice was palpable. “You know what doing that would mean! Why would you _want_ to be around me for that long?”

 

Matt’s response was automatic, almost instinctual, but had he stopped to think he would have said something else. “Why wouldn't I?”

 

“Because I'm a monster!” By this point Nekou was using Matt’s sheets to dry her eyes. “Do you know what it’s like when that sh _i_ t happens to me? What happened when I was stabbed? F _u_ ck the voice in my head!” Nekou rolled over to face Matt again and made a fist against her chest. “When that sh _i_ t happens, I… I can feel my bones and muscles moving around under my skin, like… like they aren't even mine! This isn’t even me, I’m a parasite in my own body…”

 

“You aren’t a parasite or a monster,” Matt said softly. “If there’s anything I know it’s that.”

 

It took all the strength Nekou had to not lash out at him. “Did you not f _u_ cking listen to what I said?!”

 

“I heard you, but…” The weight of what Matt was about to admit made him unable to look Nekou in the eye anymore. “If you're a monster, then what does that make me? I… lied about what was done to me. It’s not just limbs and an eye. I should be dead but instead I’m a corpse animated by machines… if you’re a monster, so am I…”

 

Nekou suddenly threw her arms around Matt and embraced him as tightly as she could, burying her face in his shoulder. “If there are two monsters then maybe neither of them has to be alone… tell me that’s true. Please…”

 

“It sure is.”

 

Matt made no effort to separate himself from Nekou. The two of them remained as they were as the pouring rain again became the only sound to be heard.

 

-:-

 

Deep within the Polaris temple complex, Father sat at his desk, staring at a photograph in an elegantly carved frame. Outside of the glowing double helix statues lining the slate gray path from the office’s entrance to the desk, his cavernous surroundings were largely empty. Behind him, a wall of glass revealed a giant aquarium, populated with all manner of Water-type Pokémon including many Milotic, Alomomola, Relicanth, Corsola and others.

 

The sound of a door sliding open behind him made him put down the photo and swiftly reach for the inkwell nearby. With pen in hand, he made an effort to look busy working on the document before him.

 

“I already saw you,” the woman entering the office said while drying her bobbed, blonde hair in a towel. Her thin form was wrapped in a lily-white robe that stood out vividly against the dreary decor, and she had no reaction to her bare feet touching the cold floor. “Don’t worry yourself, dearie, I’m not mad.”

 

“It is difficult to focus sometimes,” Father explained to her as she approached. “I find myself getting lost in thought about them.”

 

“We can’t have that, now can we? Not when there’s so much important work to do.”

 

Father didn’t answer, but he took notice when the woman took his staff, which he had left leaning against his desk. He watched as she walked away from him, planted the staff firmly into the floor, and began dancing with it.

 

Feeling uneasy with where the conversation was heading, Father took the opportunity to change the subject. “How are you feeling?” he asked of his collaborator. “You were in there for longer than usual this time.”

 

“Having to travel to and from Angel Tower for my media spot didn’t do me any favors,” Gabriella said without stopping her twirling around the staff. “You know I always feel like I’m burning up. But the water gives me so much relief, I wish I could stay in it forever!” Gabriella struck a dramatic pose, using the staff to hold herself up while she kicked up a leg and threw back her head and arm. “If there wasn't so much to do, I might stay in that aquarium even longer. Being able to breathe in there is such a blessing. I love it.”

 

“It’s fitting you feel that way, considering the oceans are the cradle of life,” Father observed.

 

“Fitting, considering we’re going to create life in a cradle of our own,” Gabriella replied, finally halting her dance. She started walking back to the desk with the staff in her hand. “That’s why your role is so important right now. The people only see Polaris as what Ghetsis represented. It’s up to you to bring them into the light.”

 

“You’re right,” the masked man admitted. “I have to focus…”

 

“That’s right you do.” Having reached Father’s side, Gabriella placed the staff back against the desk and lovingly nestled his head in her arms. “You are so, so precious to me…” she whispered. “Do you remember where you were when I found you? Near death, torn away from everything you loved… never forget that I lifted you out of that, gave you hope where you had none…”

 

Behind his mask, Father frowned and shut his eyes in a fruitless attempt to resist his escalating emotions. “I… I remember. How could I forget…”

 

“I promise that you’ll get them back. You know that the Oracle shows me what will happen when she speaks to me...you’ll get them back, but we need to create chaos first so Dark Matter will have a feast of despair when Azrael reawakens.” Gabriella released Father, allowing him to slouch in his chair, and started for the exit. “I have to go have a word with Lys. Finish your speech.”

 

“Color me surprised Lysandre already knows who Finansielle is,” Father said as Gabriella walked away. “Oh, Gabriella? I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I liked your long hair better.”

 

Gabriella stopped, but did not turn around. “Funny you’d say that, considering your wife.”

 

“That was her taste, but my daughter shares mine. You’ve seen her.”

 

“Touché.” With that, Gabriella left the office, a wicked smile creeping over her face as she slipped outside of Father’s notice.

 

-:-

 

By that afternoon, the rain over Route 38 had not relented. If anything, it had grown even more intense. It pounded on the HR-E with such force that the television inside failed to completely drown it out.

 

With their plans for more training sidelined thanks to the downpour, Olivia and Avril had taken to watching a Pokémon Baccer match, joined by Monroe and Bunny. One of the competing teams comprised a trio of avian Pokémon, somewhat similar to each other in appearance; one was yellow and had pom-pom shapes at the ends of her wings, another pink with a feathery skirt around her body, and the third purple with fan-shaped wings. Opposing them was a Lunatone, a Solrock and a Claydol.

 

“Here it comes, this is what I’ve been telling you about!” Monroe excitedly shouted to his sister and their friend, neither of whom quite shared his enthusiasm. On the television, the three bird Pokémon arranged themselves at different angles in relation to the game ball as it neared them. “Watch this!”

 

Once the ball reached a certain point, the trainer overseeing them thrust her hand forward and issued a command. The yellow Pokémon responded by waving her pom-poms and releasing a wave of electricity. This was only the start, as her action triggered reflexive reactions from her teammates, making them wave their arms and produce waves of energy matching their colors as well. The ball rocketed from one Pokémon to the next, their coordinated action leaving their opponents helpless as it shot into the goal.

 

 _“Goal!!”_ the announcer cried. _“The Hau’oli Songbirds put another point on the board with their signature triple threat Revelation Dance! The Fallarbor Meteors never knew what hit them!”_

 

“Those Oricorio are impressive,” Bunny said as the broadcast shifted to a commercial.

 

“Yup,” Monroe agreed. “Mele the Pom-Pom Oricorio, Aka the Pa’u Oricorio, and Poni the Sensu Oricorio. Each of their Revelation Dances are a different type, but thanks to their Dancer ability, just one of them using it prompts the others to use theirs immediately. You saw what that lets them do. Olivia, isn’t it great?”

 

The frown he was met with completely caught Monroe by surprise.

 

“Olivia?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. They’re great, yeah…” Olivia showed her friend the slightest of smiles, but her gaze remained fixed at an angle just below the television and her emotions began to boil over. “I just… I just remember how my mom and dad and I used to watch Pokémon Baccer together. I miss when we were all together…” When Olivia lifted her head, her friends could see that her forced smile was betrayed by the glassy look in her eyes. “You guys have each other,” she said, gesturing to Avril and Monroe. “The closest I have to that is Nekou, I guess?”

 

“You’ve got Matt and me, too,” Bunny added. “Trust me, Olivia, you aren’t alone against everything.”

 

“That’s not what I meant!” Olivia snapped back, before becoming apologetic almost immediately. “I’m sorry, Bunny, I didn’t mean to…” Once she saw that Bunny wasn’t upset, she went back to gazing at her balled-up fists on her lap. “I meant siblings. I feel like… having someone like that, they’d understand you on a different level, right?”

 

“I wish…” Avril mumbled to herself.

 

Olivia failed to notice Avril’s reaction and continued to talk herself. “It… really hurts to think about,” she confessed. “I almost had… brothers or sisters, they never told me which. My mom… she got really sick before they were born, and… I can’t have brothers or sisters now.”

 

“Forgive me,” Bunny said. “If I realized what you meant I wouldn’t have said that.”

 

“You’ve seen what our family’s like,” Monroe mused aloud, “at least a little bit. We get really competitive, the three of us, but I wouldn't trade Avril and Helena for anything in the world.”

 

“I’ve seen the two of you battle, but I don’t remember seeing Helena yet. How does she stack up?”

 

Before Monroe could answer, Avril abruptly changed the subject, seemingly ignoring Olivia’s question. “I’m not okay with this,” she complained while watching the rain outside the window. “I told myself I’d be working 24/7 training all the way to Olivine, but with weather like this, it isn’t happening.”

 

Remembering Avril’s similarly terse behavior talking about the Olivine Gym Leader days earlier, Olivia silently looked over at Avril as she continued to sulk.

 

“If I can’t get ready, there’s no way I’m winning there. No way you will, either. And if we both get stuck there I don’t think I could ever live it down.”

 

-:-

 

Polaris’ temple was a somber place, a place of reflection riddled with heavy stone hallways lit under the faint glow of lamp light. Excan didn’t know what to expect as he followed the instructions of the paper in his hand to one of the deepest parts of the complex, but when he saw a Polaris member guarding a roped-off doorway beneath a blue neon arch, he began asking silently asking himself questions.

 

_“Come here for my… induction? They already voted and approved me, what is all of this?”_

 

Without a word, Excan passed the note to the guard, who read it and pulled back the rope, allowing him to enter the arch. A narrower, darker hallway waited beyond, leading him to a destination he could only question even further. As he walked he could hear the sound of casual conversation and soft music, making him work even harder in an attempt to solve the puzzle. Yet, in all of his ruminations on where he was being led, what he ultimately discovered was something that never entered his mind.

 

At the end of the hall was a bar, where a number of the Chromosomes were lounging and waiting for him to arrive. Besides the bar itself and a few booths, a pool table and a jukebox sat under the soft chandelier lights and blue neon. The members of the Sacred Helix that were assembled all turned to their new ally when he stepped inside, giving him varying degrees of greeting. Of all of them, it was Praeses who stood up to meet Excan.

 

“Welcome!” he cheerfully said to the new Chromosome. Seeing that Excan was scanning the room, carefully examining his surroundings, Praeses spread his arms and gestured around. “What do you think? Glad I put together the invite for you?”

 

Behind his glowing mask, Excan’s eyes were darting around. Something about the bar and its mood struck him as suspicious, almost like a trap. He tried to parse his words carefully, but ended up saying, “This is not what I expected. It’s different from what I thought Polaris was about.”

 

Praeses laughed, much to Excan’s surprise. “We hear that just about every time someone new gets in. They always think the Sacred Helix that approves them is the _only_ one, and they’re always so surprised when we bring them in here for the induction!”

 

“You can say that again,” Mercury commented from her table, where she was nursing a mixed drink of her own.

 

“So come in, come in!” Praeses urged Excan, beckoning him into the bar. The towering man followed his direction, albeit reluctantly. “Tell us, what makes one of the richest men in Kalos come all the way to our door?”

 

Excan immediately froze, shocked that he had been so openly identified. “I-I’m still masked…” he stammered.

 

“We wear them to symbolize how we discard what we are in this world so we can embrace the promised world,” Praeses explained, “but that doesn’t mean we don’t know each other's’ identities either.”

 

“You always make it sound like we all know each other,” Getriebe complained. He leaned against the wall and said, “There are a few who stay under wraps no matter what.”

 

“That’s true,” Praeses admitted while bringing Excan up to the bar itself. “None of us know who Father is, but we don’t need to. What matters is that his guidance to us is correct, which it always is. Other than him, the other ones not all of us know are Finansielle and Geminus. The rule usually is that if a Chromosome has their identity revealed to another but requests it be kept hidden from those not privy to it, that request must be honored.”

 

“Is that so,” Excan replied. He lowered his head and smiled, taking note of the fact that while the other Chromosomes in the room knew him and he knew most of them, he had knowledge not all of them did - that Finansielle was actually Gabriella Bouchard. His pleasure at this realization made him more comfortable, and he settled in at the bar. “To answer your earlier question, it is essentially what I told you in the meeting. I despise what this world has become. Driven on by modern society, foolish people are destroying each other and their environment. Their greed will continue to destroy everything until they are put back on the right track, and I intend to make that happen.”

 

“I thought you’d say something like that. Talk to Athleta, his story’s pretty similar.”

 

At Praeses’ urging, Excan turned to the pool table, where the Dragonite-masked Chromosome was chalking a cue. Athleta sighed, put the cue against the wall, and set his right hand down on the table.

 

“I’ll admit that I admired what I heard from you the other day.” As he listened, Excan imagined that Athleta was rolling his eyes behind his mask. “The environment must be protected. My home of Blackthorn has been lucky to avoid the worst of it. But when I look to the rest of the country, let alone the world…”

 

“You feel angry?” Excan guessed. “Enraged that no matter what you do, it’s not enough to prove to the fools out there that their greed, their inability to stop themselves from taking more and more is destroying this entire planet? I understand how that feels. I’ve spent most of my life watching them destroy themselves and fighting to stop it.”

 

“Absolutely!” The annoyance in Athleta’s voice was gone, replaced by a passion very similar to Excan’s. “When the Pokémon League here started, I tried to use my position to act as a role model for the public. All they took from it was the exact opposite of what I wanted. No matter what I did as an Elite Four member, as a Champion, no matter how much I’ve fought, they’ve destroyed more and more in their need to overthrow me, just as you said!”

 

“I’m hearing you there,” Excan said, crossing his arms. “I’m sure we’ll be able to accomplish something, the two of us.” Athleta merely nodded in response to this and went back to his game, so Excan asked Praeses, “What about you though? You’ve been eager to get me talking to them, but you haven’t said anything. What gets someone with power like yours into this?”

 

“I have a responsibility to use the power I have to make this world a better place, to put it simply.” Praeses brought his hand to his chin. “I was given the power I possess for a reason, but for a long time I questioned what that reason was. When Polaris approached me I finally came to understand it… I am strong because I must lead as many as I can to be strong as well. It’s evolution, just like the process Pokémon go through. In order for both humanity and Pokémon to advance, I am here to help filter out the strong from the weak. It’s why I still battle when politics isn’t keeping me busy. I do have to admit that it’s not a pretty process, but the beauty we create when this is over will more than make up for it.”

 

Excan took some time to consider what he’d been told. It was true that building the beautiful world he dreamed of would require the destruction of the current one. The kind of destruction he’d planned on, though, was of a different sort than what Praeses described to him. He’d fantasized about wiping the slate clean in one swift, terrible motion, utilizing the weapon built by the ancient Tenganist king to eradicate all but his chosen ones so they could inherit a beautiful world. The slow, messy collapse of society that he was hearing of now struck him as uncomfortably close to what he wanted to fight against in the first place. Yet he also had to admit to himself that Praeses and the other Chromosomes seemed genuine in their desires to see that same beautiful world, and their passion made him willing to consider their approach. Even though she wasn’t present in the bar, Finansielle’s extreme interest in his ideas made him content, regardless of what happened. If this crude approach proved fruitless, Excan knew she’d back him up in a more elegant plan.

 

“Don’t get the wrong idea, newbie,” Getriebe grumbled from his table, where he’d sat down with Jeunes. He did not speak loudly, but the others were able to hear him. “Praeses makes it sound like we all joined for these noble causes. Some of us want nothing more than payback.”

 

“Payback, huh?” Excan stroked his beard as he looked down on Getriebe. Calmly he asked, “for what would that payback be?”

 

“Surely someone who operates a business like yours is very familiar with the Silph Company,” Getriebe immediately replied, putting a hand up to keep Jeunes from talking. “Right when I should have experienced success for the first time, Silph came in and stole everything from me.”

 

Before he reacted to Getriebe’s words, Excan down at the smaller man’s hand, which was gripping a glass so tightly it was shaking. Seeing this made a tiny smile creep onto Excan’s face. “I do know plenty about Silph and their unbridled corporate greed. It’s not surprising they would…”

 

“When I first graduated from the Rustboro School, I had a great invention that was supposed to be my ticket to success,” Getriebe bitterly said, picking up on Excan’s lead without looking at him. He reached the pouch to his belt and removed a metallic device, which he then set on the table. “You probably know it… my data-analyzing machine. I invented it to record and analyze battles so they could be studied. Sounds like something a lot of people would want, right? Of course it is. A graduate just out of school couldn’t market their creation independently, so I approached Silph and proposed it to them. They turned me down, then tweaked a few things, branded it as the Vs. Recorder, and dumped it on the market. To this day I’ve seen not a penny of its earnings nor any of the credit I deserve for creating it. I want Silph and all their successes destroyed. I want to take away everything from them just like they did to me.”

 

 _“What an arrogant, selfish fool!”_ At that moment, the mask covering Excan’s face helped prevent an argument, as it hid the fury burning in his eyes. He curled one of his gloved hands into a tight fist, and very nearly put his thoughts into words, but Getriebe noticed neither. Managing to check his disgust at Getriebe’s true motives, Excan pivoted to Jeunes, who by then was just sitting by and waiting.

 

“What I want will probably be more to your taste,” Jeunes said, correctly perceiving Excan’s opinions of what he’d just heard.

 

 _“I hope it is…”_ Excan thought, though he again refrained from speaking.

 

“It’s Team Rocket I want to destroy,” Jeunes went on to explain. “They destroyed my life when I was just a young boy. Both of my parents were scientists who worked on a team that was personally hired by Giovanni for a top secret project, to clone the DNA from a certain fossil and alter it to create the ultimate living weapon. Of course, it’s not so secret now. You know it as Mewtwo.”

 

“I do,” Excan reflexively replied, before realizing the implications of this statement. “That means your parents were…”

 

“I’ll never forget the day Team Rocket came to our estate to give us their fates.” The bitterness in Jeunes’ voice was so intense that it made Getriebe sound joyful by comparison. “That woman, Ariana, her face has been burned into my memory since I first saw it. It was from that moment that I came to live with only one purpose: to finish my parents’ work and use it to kill Giovanni, Ariana, and everyone else responsible for what happened. I joined the Pokémon Institute and developed my Mirage System there, but by the time I was expelled, Team Rocket’s agents there had already noticed me, and they brought me in. I thought that would be my chance!”

 

Jeunes slammed his fist on the table, and the sudden noise made Getriebe and Mercury jump.

 

“I thought that would be my chance,” he repeated, “but just as I finished the development of the system, before I perfected my Mirage Mewtwo, they took my research and kicked me out. Polaris found me right after that and helped fund my reconstruction of the Mirage System. I’m more than willing to use it to destroy this world if it will destroy Team Rocket too.”

 

Excan shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned. _“These two shortsighted fools fail to grasp the nobility of this cause!”_ he angrily thought. It occurred to him that an awkward silence had settled over the room, so to alleviate it, he put on the most sincere smile he could. “The cause of peace would be greatly advanced if organizations like Team Rocket were destroyed, with that I agree. Any weapon that can be used to that end should be utilized.”

 

Seeking to change the subject, Excan searched the room. His eyes settled upon the one Chromosome present he hadn’t yet spoken to - Mercury. Unlike many of the others she had remained largely silent since his arrival, tending to her mixed drink alone at a corner table.

 

Approaching her, Excan asked her, “And on that note, a former member of Team Galactic? I fail to understand how a servant of that delusional lunatic Cyrus ends up here.”

 

“You assume I believed in his nonsense,” Mercury flatly said. Even as she spoke with him, she remained fixated on the drink in front of her, slowly stirring it as she gazed into the glass. “Where did it even start?” she mused aloud. “I still remember my life before all of this. Back then all I needed was all the mythology in Sinnoh. Then I met that miserable Charon, and before I knew it, our son and daughter were born and Charon’s ego was already starting to spiral out of control…”

 

“So it was family trouble that brought you to Polaris?” Excan reasoned.

 

“You have no idea.” Mercury stopped mixing the drink, leaving the ice cubes to clink together. “Cyrus recruited both Charon and I while he was putting Team Galactic together. We both had our roles, but it wasn’t long before Charon thought Cyrus was favoring my research over his. That really rubbed him the wrong way, and he started pursuing more and more dangerous experiments to overtake me. One of those experiments blinded our daughter, and our son got fed up and ran away from home with her.”

 

Mercury set her drink down and reached up to pinch her brow. Taking notice of her emotions, Excan idly stroked his beard before answering back to her.

 

“After everything you’ve been through, it makes perfect sense that you’d be here,” he said. “You want to change this world for a truly noble reason. You’re driven by the pure intent to heal the harmed and bring your loved ones back together.”

 

“You flatter me,” Mercury remarked in response. “I actually don’t care that Charon is gone. He was a thorn in all of our sides and the world is better off without him. Matt and Amanda, on the other hand… they’ve been through so much that I want to free them from their pain, but I know they’ll never forgive me and accept my help now. That’s why I’m here. Polaris first approached me after Cyrus started tricking Matt into working for him, and they revealed to me that Cyrus’s claims about making a world without strife really meant he was going to rob us of everything that makes us human. I couldn’t go along with that so I joined Polaris and worked from within Team Galactic to take it down… it wasn’t long after that that I discovered Cyrus’s plan for a secret project in which he was going to have Charon experiment on our daughter… I leaked the existence of that project to Matt, and it opened his eyes and got him to escape Team Galactic with her. I rescued one of the only two survivors from that project and brought her into Polaris as well, and since then, I’ve been trying to do something that will finally help my son and daughter.”

 

“To protect your loved ones is the pure wish I’ve been searching for.” Finding himself surprisingly moved by what Mercury told him, Excan reached out and put his hand on her shoulder as a show of support. “The greed of people like Charon and Cyrus, the ones whose egos drive them to pursue superiority for selfish ends…” Excan trailed off, his mind drifting to Getriebe and Jeunes as he continued to speak. “They are the ones who are driving this world to collapse. They are the ones who drove you apart from your children. You have noble intentions. Your rescue of the test subject from Cyrus’s custody shows that. Fumika Chiaki, I promise you that together, you and I will destroy this imperfect world and replace it with the peaceful utopia your family deserves.”

 

Mercury could do nothing but stare up at Excan towering over her. She hadn’t expected her story to provoke his sudden outburst of passion. His immediate knowledge of her true identity didn’t surprise her; it had been plenty publicized during the multiple investigations of Team Galactic by the International Police. What she truly never thought she’d hear was his genuine willingness to ally specifically with her. She’d long since resigned herself to a life of relative isolation within Polaris, her dreams of reuniting her family kept quiet from the others, especially Finansielle, who she always thought acted strangely whenever Matt and Amanda’s names came up. There was Séduire, the girl who she rescued from Team Galactic and had always imagined as an ideal daughter-in-law, but aside from her Mercury had no other allies.

 

“Sounds like things are going to get busy.” With that, Mercury brought her glass to her lips and drank a significant portion of it in one dramatic sip.

 

Meanwhile, near the bar, Praeses smiled to himself and took out his phone. With a single tap on its screen, he brought up a text message to Finansielle. While Excan and Mercury continued talking to each other, he typed in a message.

 

_“Looks like Excan’s 100% on board with us. He’s really connecting with Mercury, as you thought he would.”_

 

-:-

 

That night, on a large jet sailing over the dark, peaceful ocean, a young woman and young man were wide awake even as most of their fellow passengers slept.

 

 _“Passengers, this is the captain,”_ a voice said through the cabin’s speakers. _“Carmonte Air flight 36 will be reaching its destination, Olivine Airport, in approximately one hour.”_

 

“Looks like I’m working all the way to the hotel,” the woman muttered to herself. She stopped typing on her laptop, took a pen out of one of the pockets on her heavy black coat, and began spinning it around with her fingers. On the computer’s screen were pictures of Matt, Nekou, Giovanni and Ghetsis, all over a wallpaper of the International Police’s insignia. “Matt Chiaki, Team Rocket, Team Plasma, Polaris, and the Tenganist Liberation Front… how do you all fit together? What is the connection?”

 

The more the woman stared at and considered the pictures, the more quickly she rolled the pen between her fingers. She eventually lost control of the instrument and dropped it into her seat, a slip that made her sigh in frustration.

 

 _“I hate flying…”_ she thought as she retrieved the pen. While doing so she bumped into the arm of her ash blonde partner, who was wrapped up in watching the television in the next seat with his earphones in. “Stay on your side, Silva. We’ve been over this.”

 

Her partner didn’t hear her words, and he barely reacted to her touch aside from slightly moving his arm away from her. He was too engrossed in the news broadcast he was watching, and once his fascination became apparent to his associate, she started watching it as well. That was when he finally took notice and turned to her.

 

“Mitsumi, listen to this,” Silva said, passing his right earphone to her. She took it, lifted her long green hair from over her left ear and put it in.

 

_“...we are aware that the victim was a resident of northern Viridian City. Local police are not providing any further information to us at this time, pending the involvement of the International Police in the investigation. Authorities are putting out a warning, however, that men in the area should exercise caution with the Kiss of Death killer’s return.”_

 

“This happens as soon as we get sent out to find Mr. Looker,” Silva grumbled. “I hope they don’t send us right off to Viridian as soon as we touch down…”

 

“The higher-ups aren’t going to pull us off this case,” Mitsumi assured him as she returned the earphone to him. As soon as her hand was free, she went back to twirling the pen between her fingers. “Finding Looker isn’t our only mission, did you forget? We were assigned to hunt down the members of Team Plasma missing after the Ecruteak City incident. Silva, please try to stay focused on all the details of our operation.”

 

“Of course, of course,” Silva said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll make you and Mr. Looker proud.”

 

“Good.” Mitsumi smiled at her partner, then reached under her seat, where her bag was. She took out a pair of heavy, noise-canceling headphones and slipped them over her ears. “Now if we’re an hour out from landing, I have to block that all out and get this work done.”

 

-:-

 

Four hundred and sixty seven.

 

There was water dripping in the dark room where Nikolai had been placed following his delivery to Polaris’ temple by the Shadow Triad. He’d always been fond of numbers and had expertise with them, so counting the drops helped keep his mind busy. Not only did it soothe the boredom he felt, it helped distract him somewhat from the injuries the Triad inflicted on him.

 

When the cell’s iron door opened, it broke Nikolai’s concentration. The frustration he felt about having his counting disrupted was quickly replaced by a surge of pain, and he grabbed the cast around his left arm with his hand in a futile attempt to soothe it. Finansielle entered the chamber, moving in a strange, swaying manner, with two ordinary Polaris members behind her.

 

“How nice it is to meet you, my precious angel,” she said to him. Her eyes wandered to the cast, and seeing it led her to pout. “I’m sorry for the rough treatment that foul Shadow Triad put you through.”

 

“That means nothing coming from someone they work for!” Nikolai spat back.

 

Finansielle brought her hand to her mouth and gently laughed. “You may be the only person on Earth who’s forgotten about Ghetsis’ habit of betraying others, ironically enough. They worked for him, but we’ll be resolving how they feel about Polaris soon enough. As for you…” She took several steps closer to Nikolai, who pushed himself back away from her. “You can’t remember who you really are right now, nor your true purpose. Tragic…”

 

“What are you going to do to me?”

 

“I’m going to help you become what you really are, something beautiful…” Turning her head upwards and spreading her arms, Finansielle allowed herself to smile at the plans lurking within her mind. “Recover for now, my angel. Soon you’ll be what you were born to become…”

 

-:-

 

Many hundreds of miles away from what was unfolding in Johto and Kanto, the Orre region was experiencing prosperity far removed from what the other regions faced. Once a barren desert wasteland filled to the brim with criminals, the work of police, business and charity had brought it back from the brink. Orre’s environment was improving, and with it the population of wild Pokémon was increasing. The cities, meanwhile, were leaving behind their collective past as dens of crime, recovering enough that a Pokémon League of Orre’s very own was seen as being in the region’s near future.

 

The symbol of Orre’s newfound prosperity was also the crown jewel of its nascent Pokémon League. Looming over the central desert area like a great ivory monolith, the Realgam Tower had once been the headquarters of an international crime group, but upon their dismantling it was repurposed for legitimate business. The tower’s base, by itself a building of impressive size, housed restaurants, gaming facilities, shopping centers and just about every other form of entertainment one could imagine. The next floors served as a luxury hotel for the tourists drawn in by the tower’s other attractions.

 

What brought in most of those tourists sat at the top of the tower, nestled among giant, geometric pillars. The Realgam Colosseum was seen by the general public - those unaware of the secretive Orre Colosseum - as the site where Orre’s greatest battles were held for all to see, and that day was no different. On the colosseum’s Poké Ball-styled battlefield, an alternate-color Metagross and a Hawlucha clashed for the thousands of spectators in the hexagonal audience pods surrounding them.

 

“Metagross, Zen Headbutt!” the Steel-and-Psychic-type’s trainer called out to it. His silver hair matched the color of his Pokémon, but clashed against the dark colors of his formal clothing.

 

With a mechanical-sounding growl, Metagross locked its legs into its body and flung itself forward utilizing its magnetism, the cross on its face glowing a bright blue. Still reeling from the last blow she suffered, the Hawlucha barely managed to stand up before her foe collided with her and threw her across the field.

 

 _“Diantha’s Hawlucha is down!”_ the announcer declared over a roar from the crowd. _“This battle of champions could not be any closer! It’s now down to Steven’s ace Metagross against Diantha’s last Pokémon, and we all know who that is!”_

 

Diantha, the trainer of the Hawlucha, smiled peacefully as she held up a Poké Ball to recall her Pokémon. Though clothed entirely in gold-fringed white instead of the frilly red and white dress Sheena memorialized her in, she was in fact the same woman who was on the poster for “My Sweet, Sweet Lady” that she kept in her room.

 

“I’m enjoying this battle quite a lot, Steven, I must admit that…” she said while putting away Hawlucha’s Poké Ball in her handbag and preparing another. “The spirits of your Pokémon are in top form.”

 

“A compliment like that from Kalos’ champion isn’t something you get every day,” Steven responded. “Of course, we’re not through yet, are we? Metagross, are you up for this?”

 

Though its body was showing wear from its previous battles with Hawlucha and other Pokémon, Metagross gave an energized grunt of affirmation to its trainer.

 

“I would expect nothing else from you, Steven,” Diantha said, still retaining her gracious smile. Instead of throwing the ball in her hand, she simply opened it and gently said, “Gardevoir, come out.”

 

Diantha’s last Pokémon took shape on the field, and the response from the crowd was deafening. _“It’s a battle of champions and their aces!”_ thundered the announcer. _“Gardevoir versus Metagross! These two titans are going to have a fierce fight to the finish and nothing will stand in their way!”_

 

“He has a point, Diantha… should we give them what they want?”

 

“Yes, let’s.”

 

Diantha reached up to her golden pendant, while Steven removed his lapel pin from his suit. Both items had Key Stones attached to them, much like Kate’s headset; Diantha activated hers merely by holding it in her hand, Steven was more theatrical, drawing out his stone’s power by touching it to his lips. Bright lights emerged from the two Key Stones and joined with the Mega Stones worn by Gardevoir and Metagross in their necklace and leg brace, respectively. The two Pokémon were enveloped in cocoons of light, which they soon tore out of to reveal their Mega Evolved states, to the pleasure of the crowd.

 

Of the two Pokémon, Gardevoir changed to a lesser degree: her gown had become longer and more flowing, her hair shortened, and the horn in her chest split into a two-pronged shape. Metagross, on the other hand, underwent a dramatic physical change. It roughly doubled in size, and its legs turned sideways to become giant, clawed arms. The four arms it already had faced forward, while four new smaller arms pointed backward. Completing its transformation, the cross on its face turned from gold to blue, and a large spike emerged beneath its mouth.

 

_“There they are, folks, what you’ve been waiting to see! The signature Pokémon of these two legendary trainers - Mega Gardevoir and Mega Metagross! Two have entered our arena, but only one of these Mega Evolved Pokémon will come out!”_

 

“Ready to find out which one of us will be that one, Diantha?” Steven asked with a mischievous grin.

 

“I am, but don’t assume you know the answer already.” Diantha returned Steven’s expression.

 

“Oh, I won’t.” Extending both of his arms and opening his hands wide, Steven called out, “Metagross, Meteor Mash!”

 

Metagross locked all eight of its arms into its body to streamline itself, then propelled itself at Gardevoir while enveloped in blue light. In the face of Metagross’s speed and power, neither Diantha nor Gardevoir flinched. They simply waited for Metagross to draw close, then, with an unspoken cue from her trainer, Gardevoir swiftly moved aside and avoided the collision.

 

“It’s our turn now, Gardevoir. Shadow Ball!”

 

-:-

 

Though the storm had passed, much of the sky over Route 38 was still overcast. Not that this mattered - Olivia and Avril were more than willing to make up for the previous day’s lack of training in the gloomy weather. With Matt, Nekou, Bunny and Monroe sitting nearby and watching, the pair went through their exercises with their Pokémon.

 

“Krabby, use Bubble Beam!” Olivia called out, getting a fierce, gurgling hiss from the Water-type’s bubble-filled mouth as he faced his foe, Avril’s Eevee.

 

“Stop it with Swift!!”

 

Avril’s Eevee met the flood of bubbles sent his way by Krabby with an equal flood of glowing stars. The two swarms negated each other with some force, creating a burst of wind that shook the water from the plants around the area.

 

“You know two can play that game, right?” Avril taunted.

 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Olivia said with a smile.

 

With that, the two and their Pokémon went back to exchanging their attacks. Off to the side, Matt picked up the plate next to himself and turned to the Trevenant, who was standing alongside him fixated on Olivia and Avril.

 

“I get the impression when you were with Dino things were very different than this,” Matt said to the Pokémon, whose single eye did not waver. “I overheard him talking to that Colress guy, calling you a failed experiment… I don’t know what that’s all about, but we don’t see things that way. Here.”

 

Matt offered the Trevenant one of the fried pastries on the plate, and its scent got him to finally turn away from watching the training. He stared at it, very plainly surprised and unsure of what to do.

 

Seeing the Pokémon’s unease, Nekou leaned over and snatched one of the pastries off the plate herself. “See, they’re delicious!” she exclaimed before taking a huge bite out of the pastry and barely chewing before swallowing it. “I just wish he’d make them more. I haven’t had one since the nineteenth century!”

 

“Wh-” Bunny needed a moment to absorb what Nekou had said and understand it. “Yeah, I guess that’s technically true…”

 

Encouraged by this, the Trevenant took the pastry into his hands and started to eat it. He chewed on it slowly, deliberating on its flavor while the humans in front of him looked on. The Ghost-type toyed with the pastry in his woody claws, before suddenly putting the rest of it into his mouth, drawing a collective sigh of relief from the gathered trainers.

 

The peace did not last long. Unbeknownst to the trainers, a pair of presences were lurking in the bushes nearby, creeping forward with the faint rustling of the leaves. The beings paused, and before anything could be done, they suddenly lunged out. One of the presences struck the back of Matt’s head with enough force to make him drop the plate. Marie, who had been asleep against Nekou’s leg, woke up the moment the pastries hit the ground and made a beeline for them, but she could only collect two before a pink-and-white blur collided with her.

 

-:-

 

With his battle against Diantha resolved, Steven retired to one of the many restaurants within Realgam Tower to unwind. The silver-haired man absentmindedly took sips from a cocktail in his hand while watching the television mounted on the wall behind the bar.

 

 _“The Orre Region is set to receive another gift from one of its biggest benefactors,”_ the red-suited news anchor stated. She gestured to the space next to her, where a stylized golden insignia was briefly displayed. Its presence was followed by the image of a glamorous woman draped in her blonde hair standing alongside a scruffy man of large stature, both dressed in lily-white clothing. _“The Aether Foundation has announced a further investment of thirty-five  billion  dollars for the continuation of Orre’s restoration and development. In a statement provided to us here at ONBS, Aether Foundation president Lusamine and vice president and chief scientist Mohn said: ‘We are impressed with the progress the Orre Region has shown. Crime rates have continued to decline as the health of Orre’s environment has improved. These positive steps have already made Orre a much better place for both humans and Pokémon. We have decided to continue the Aether Foundation’s investments in the region because we believe it will one day evolve into a paradise where Pokémon can freely flourish alongside humans.”_

 

“That Lusamine is something else, isn’t she?” At some point, Diantha had come up behind Steven and joined him in watching the broadcast without notice. “It's good to have passion for something, I suppose.”

 

“Her passion is so intense it’s almost scary.” Steven downed more of the drink and then said, “At least it’s for something good. Last time I was in Orre this place was still pretty bleak. Now I almost don’t want to leave.”

 

“About that…” Diantha reached into her handbag to retrieve her phone, tapped its screen several times, and held it next to Steven’s head. “Listen to this message.”

 

Of all the voices that could have come out of the phone, it was Sheena’s that Steven heard. _“Mom, it’s me. I’m sorry I haven't called in so long. Life’s been… a little crazy lately. Don't worry about me. I saw your win today against Steven… you’re amazing. You always are. Mom, listen to me. Keep winning. Beat everyone in your way, no matter who they are. Keep winning so you can stay in Orre. There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and I think Orre might be the safest place to be. I know that’s going to alarm you, but please, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I just want you to not get mixed up in everything. I love you, Mom. Let’s see each other soon.”_

 

Steven’s demeanor was visibly far less casual by the time the message ended.

 

“That’s the kind of thing that would have me on the next plane home if my child left it for me,” he muttered.

 

“You’re telling me,” Diantha replied, putting her phone back in her bag. “As a mother it panics me beyond belief, but as a woman I want to trust her judgment. I know she’s tough enough to handle herself, but when I hear about what’s going on in the world and then I get that message, the urge to drop everything and rush to her can't be denied.”

 

“I’m leaving Orre tomorrow,” Steven revealed after pivoting his seat to face Diantha. “My father wants me to head back to Hoenn… there have been some incidents at Devon facilities he wants me to check out. As soon as I’ve finished seeing about that, I’ll look for Sheena, I promise.”

 

Diantha breathed a sigh of relief and set her hand on Steven’s shoulder, patting him several times as a silent show of appreciation for his help. His reputation of reliability was exactly what she needed to start calming her mind.

 

-:-

 

By the fifth day after Ghetsis’ war on its citizens, Ecruteak City was in the very earliest stages of recovery. The fires were finally out, and the police response brought temporary shelter to the displaced survivors. Unrest fomented by Ghetsis’ rhetoric still smoldered, but for the time being, it was being kept in check by the police with the aid of allied trainers they’d recruited.

 

One of the trainers working with the police was Silver. Tasked with keeping tabs on activity in the less developed half of the city, he and his Feraligatr were patrolling the streets near the Dance Hall when his Pokégear began ringing. He stopped walking, sighed, and took the device out of his pocket, but his annoyance turned to surprise when he saw who was calling.

 

“Why are you calling me now, Lance?” Silver wasted no time in demanding.

 

 _“Always so touchy,”_ the leader of the Tohjo Elite Four replied, earning another irritated sigh from Silver. _“How is the situation in Ecruteak?”_

 

“Boring, but I guess that’s a good thing.” When Lance didn’t immediately say anything back to him, Silver began to grow suspicious. He straightened, then asked, “What are you not telling me?”

 

“Silver…” Lance’s words were slow, measured. “It’s about your father.”

 

“I’ve told you again and again,” Silver snapped, “I don’t want any part of my old man’s business.”

 

“No, listen… your father, he didn’t survive Ghetsis’ rampage. He’s gone.”

 

There was nothing Silver could say in response to this news. His mind simply went completely and utterly blank. All he could do was tighten his grip on his Pokégear, so much so that he nearly cracked it.

 

“Do you expect me to feel sorry for him?” the young man asked, his voice now little more than a strained growl.

 

“Whether you feel sorry or not isn’t up to me to decide. Listen. The travel embargo in and out of Ecruteak City is going to be lifted soon. When it is, I want you to come meet me in Viridian at the earliest opportunity. We need to discuss what your father left behind.”

 

-:-

 

Not far from where Silver was patrolling, Rowena sat at a table in a café and busied herself with her laptop. The building had survived the riots and presently provided free beverages to both civilians and relief workers.

 

“Getting through that was scary, but it’s amazing watching it play back,” she said out loud to herself. As she tapped her fingers on the laptop’s keys, scenes from the riots and the battle with Ho-oh she’d recorded flashed across its screen. “When this is done and I get it off to ONBS, Secc might pay me enough to live the luxurious life for years!”

 

-:-

 

With all of the activity that had come to pass through Olivine City, it was only natural that numerous hotels sprang up to serve its visitors. One of them in the city’s north, not far from the airport, was where Mitsumi and Silva ultimately ended up. It wasn't exactly luxurious, but their accommodations were satisfying nevertheless. Plus, the International Police were footing the bill, so Mitsumi and Silva didn't need to worry about money.

 

While the two of them prepared for their mission, they had the full length windows at the end of the room open, allowing a cool night breeze to circulate. Mitsumi had laid her red tactical suit on one of the beds in the room, and was busy attaching different pieces of equipment to it. Silva, meanwhile, was lying on the other bed with a high-tech helmet and visor on his head. Three of his Pokémon were playing on the floor; his Plusle and Minun bounced a rubber ball back and forth while the third, one who wore a rag with the features of a Pikachu crudely drawn on it over her shadowy body, was drawing on a piece of paper using crayons scattered around her.

 

Once done with the rest of her equipment, Mitsumi returned to one of their suitcases to retrieve a small box. The small brown crystal nestled within glistened when she opened the container. With great care, she carried the crystal over to the suit, where she set it into a larger stone on the left wrist.

 

“There we are. Eevium Z, all set to go.”

 

Meanwhile, the Pikachu-disguised Pokémon jumped up onto Silva’s bed, carrying the picture she had drawn with an arm extended from under the rag. To get his attention she jumped up and down on his chest, but to no avail.

 

“Here, Mimikyu, I’ll take care of that for you,” Mitsumi said, coming over next to her partner’s bed. She gently lifted Mimikyu off of Silva, set her down next to him, then pressed a button on the helmet. “Time to wake up.”

 

“What…?” The shock of Mitsumi shutting down the device left Silva plainly confused. Even after Mitsumi removed it from his head, it took him some time looking around to completely return to reality. “I wasn’t goofing off this time, I swear! I really was training! The VR simulation was going great!”

 

“I’m proud of you for showing some real work ethic, but it’s time for a break. Here, Mimikyu has something to show you.”

 

Mitsumi lifted Mimikyu up once more, bringing her into her trainer’s full sight. Without hesitation, Mimikyu brought a second arm out from her rag and unrolled the paper.

 

It was a crayon drawing of Mitsumi, Silva and Looker.

 

“Did you draw this for me, Mimikyu?” Silva knew the answer already, but he knew how much it meant to Mimikyu. Her excited, chattering response was all he needed. “I love it. Thank you.”

 

Silva sat up and reached out to rub the cheeks of Mimikyu’s disguise. She squealed happily, then used one of her arms to meet his hand in a high-five that excited her even further.

 

Suddenly, a new sound joined Mimikyu’s squeaks and Silva’s amused laughter. Only Mitsumi heard it at first. While her partner and his Pokémon kept on with their cheerful exchange, she quickly inspected the room, her nerves on end.

 

The source turned out to be her laptop, presently sitting open on the table near the window.

 

“That sound…” Mitsumi said, setting Mimikyu down again so she could dedicate her full attention to the laptop. “It’s a call, but…”

“Only Mr. Looker’s calls use that ring!” Silva exclaimed. He sprang to his feet, almost falling down off his bed as he did so, and rushed to straighten up his appearance. Mitsumi, seemingly paying no mind to him, starting walking toward the computer, prompting him to shout, “Mitsumi, wait! I have to be presentable!”

“The fact that Looker’s alive and able to call us precludes any concerns we could have about appearance,” she returned, “and besides, I truly doubt he cares about what we look like when we’re not on-mission.”

With that, Mitsumi tapped her finger against the blinking square on the laptop’s screen that heralded the call. It disappeared and was replaced by a static-filled but still distinguishable image of Looker. Silva stiffened into a formal pose, and despite her words Mitsumi couldn't help standing at attention as well.

 

“Looker, sir, it is good to hear from you. Are you alright?”

 

 _“Mi...sumi…”_ The audio of the call was also cracking with periodic static, but Mitsumi and Silva could still understand their superior when he spoke. _“You tw… don’t have w...rry about me. You two must give me y...r attention and list...n. What orders ...re you two hav...g?”_

 

“We’re in Olivine now,” Silva explained. “Our mission is to start mopping up the remnants of Team Plasma and Team Rocket…”

 

 _“Have most rapturous att...tion to me!”_ Looker’s image briefly distorted even further when he shouted. _“Whate...r orders you are having, I am overr...ding them! I have learn...d much si...ce being rescued from the Magn...t Train. You two, how...ver, you will not have much satis...ction in what I must tell you.”_

 

“What are you saying, sir?” Mitsumi had been under Looker’s tutelage long enough to have a fair expertise when it came to his oddities. This was outside of how she knew him to act, and all she could do was raise an eyebrow at him.

 

_“I am saying that you two must m...ke some diff...lt compromises to deal with your n...w mission. What you two beli...ve, it must be put aside. The tr...th between Polaris and Team Ro...ket... the reality of what the Ten...anists call Dark Matter, it is all connected…”_

 

-:-

 

By that night, Matt’s group had reached the turn where the wooded paths of Route 38 gave way to the plains of Route 39, heading south toward Olivine City. It was particularly dark, allowing HR-E’s lights to be seen for quite some distance.

 

Matt sat alone in the craft’s cockpit, his only light coming through the door to the back and the screens in front of him. He stared at a small box in his right hand, lost in the memories its contents brought him. He was so preoccupied, in fact, that he didn't notice Nekou enter the room and sidle right up next to him.

 

“A ring already?” she teased, grinning mischievously with her eyes half open. “Don’t you think you’re going a little fast?”

 

“I know better than that. You’re not the type of person to go for that kind of thing.” Matt raised the box up to his shoulder so Nekou could see inside of it. “Here, look.”

 

When Nekou saw what was in the box, her reaction was more extreme than it would have been if it really did contain some piece of jewelry with emotional weight attached to it. It took all her strength to not dive over the back of the chair and grab it immediately.

 

It was a round, white stone with a red and blue Mega Evolution symbol inside of it.

 

“Do you know what this is?!” Nekou shouted, throwing her head forward so forcefully that her glasses started to slip off. When Matt didn’t immediately answer, she continued, “This is the stone that lets Salamence Mega Evolve! How have I never seen you use it?!”

 

“ _That’s_ what it is?!” This information finally got a reaction out of Matt, where Nekou’s teasing failed. “I… I had no idea! To me it was just a precious stone… I found it on a trip my grandfather took me on to Meteor Falls a long time ago. I kept it as a memory of that…”

 

Nekou climbed over the back of the chair and crawled across Matt to reach the keyboard in front of him. As she typed, she said, “Salamencite, the Mega Stone that enables Salamence to become Mega Salamence…”

 

Matt squirmed, trying to see over Nekou, but before he could she threw herself back on the couch. A video of a Salamence had appeared on the screen in response to her work. It was quickly enveloped by the cocoon of light emblematic of Mega Evolution, and emerged soon thereafter visibly changed. Its body was noticeably slimmer and streamlined, and its eyes burned with a golden glow. The uppermost of the fins framing its face had grown much longer, and the gray ridges on its underside also lengthened, forming a harness-like shape. Its wings had undergone the most change, each one forming half of a giant, red crescent going across its back.

 

All Matt could do when he saw this was fall back against the couch himself. His grip on the box never weakened. “I had no idea this stone could do something so amazing… my grandfather told me everyone should visit Meteor Falls at least once. He was right about that. I wished Amanda could come with us, but back then it wasn’t realistic for her… over all this time, I thought when I caught Sally there, she was the only result of that trip I’d be able to show Amanda. Yet, this stone…”

 

“Here, watch this…” Nekou said quietly to him, pushing herself up against his side and smiling as she gestured at the screen. On it, the now-Mega Evolved Salamence tucked its front legs into its harness, then shot up into the air like a comet.

 

 _“Salamence, Hyper Beam!”_ an unseen male voice called out.

 

Matt’s visible eye widened when a light-blue aura surrounded the Mega Salamence as it charged up its energy. When it fired its attack, the usually purple-and-black beam was surrounded by the same aura.

 

“What is that?” Matt uttered.

 

“Aerilate,” Nekou replied, getting even closer to him. “Salamence gets that ability when it Mega Evolves. All its Normal-type moves become Flying-type, and those same moves get a pretty big power boost, too.” She put her head on his shoulder, where it so often seemed to end up. “I bet you can’t wait to use that stone now.”

 

“I would use it if I could.” Once again, Matt turned his gaze down to the Salamencite in its box. “Even knowing what this is, I don’t have a Key Stone. There’s no way I can activate it.”

 

“Well we’ll have to see about fixing that, now won’t we?”

 

-:-

 

_“In international news, the cleanup in Johto’s Ecruteak City continues following the sudden appearance of Ho-oh there five days ago. The attack of the legendary Pokémon came following a speech given by Ghetsis, the representative of the Polaris organization, which itself set off riots on the city’s streets. Domestic authorities are working with the International Police to determine the threat posed by Polaris activity here in Hoenn.”_

 

When the driver of the truck sighed, his passenger immediately reached for the radio and turned it off. The pair sat for several minutes without exchanging a word between them, leaving only the hum of their vehicle’s engine to fill the air.

 

“You’d think they’d talk more about what’s been happening to our guys,” the truck’s driver complained. “Not all this stuff happening over there.”

 

“It could be that the attacks have something to do with Polaris,” the second man reasoned. “Clearly someone doesn’t like Devon, but do you really think they’re acting alone?”

 

“You’ve been listening to the news, right? Polaris says they’re for the average working man like you and me. What would they have to gain by attacking us?”

 

All of a sudden, a blast of fire shot down from the sky and spread out over the road. The driver slammed his foot down on the brake pedal and twisted the steering wheel as far as it would go, making the truck spin out as it ground to a stop. The two Devon employees barely had time to compose themselves before they heard the sound of something large swooping over their vehicle.

 

Somewhere overhead, the sound of a voice rang out, screaming, “Transcend the confines of time and space!”

 

Before the men in the truck even knew what was happening, a wide beam of pink light came down and swept over them. The last thing they saw was their entire world completely consumed by the blinding glow.

 

The light came from the hands of a young woman flying on the back of a Mega Salamence. Her red eyes glowed brightly until the light reversed and came back towards her, the backlash causing her to begin convulsing.

 

“...Mum?” the Whismur riding next to her murmured.

 

Salamence, feeling his trainer’s thrashing, descended to the road and landed, allowing her to roll off his back. The Whismur jumped off right after her and ran to her side, while Salamence reverted back to his original form.

 

“Mum?”

 

“I’m… I’m alright, Aster,” the young woman said, gradually regaining her composure. “Don’t worry about me.”

 

Regaining her strength, she stood up and brushed the dust from her gray shorts. A gust of wind blew through, rustling her cropped black hair and tattered, cream-colored cape. She stomped up to the now-empty truck and put her right foot up on its bumper, allowing the Key Stone set in her anklet to glisten in its headlights.

 

“You stick-in-the-muds from Devon are getting what you deserve, using that abominable technology the old man created for your own profit! It’s true what they say, those who refuse to learn history are doomed to repeat it, but you’d think three thousand years would be enough for you to see the truth…” Something clicked in the young woman’s mind, and she threw another of her Poké Balls over her shoulder, releasing a rotund, lavender-colored dragon whose entire body dripped with slime. “Oh, right, I better take care of that fire. Goodra, use Muddy Water to put it out.”

 

Goodra nodded to her trainer, then faced the fire, raised her arms up and howled, sending a wave of brown water cascading over Salamence’s flames. At the same time, the young woman stormed to the back of the truck with Aster tagging along closely behind her and threw the doors open to reveal its cargo.

 

“Meteonites… just like all the others. What kind of terrible machine could they want to build with these?”

 

“...Mum?”

 

“We’ll be taking them as always, Aster. Better we take ‘em home with us than Devon use them to profit off Gaia themselves. But let’s have a little fun first.”

 

-:-

 

The next morning, Devon’s president was in his office at the top of the corporation’s Rustboro City headquarters, carrying on a meeting with Steven via videophone.

 

 _“Another one last night, Dad?”_ Steven incredulously said. _“Is it linked to the others?”_

 

“Same exact circumstances as every other attack, Steven. Our employees vanished without a trace, and the truck’s cargo was stolen. And like all the others, the culprit spray painted flowers and the word ‘Aster’ all over it.”

 

_“Flowers and the word ‘Aster’... they must be a message from whoever is campaigning against Devon, but what does it mean? Is it a threat? Telling us what they’ve done with our people?”_

  
“Unfortunately, we have no clues as of yet,” Devon’s president said with a grimace. “Hurry and get back here as soon as possible. I will redouble security at all our facilities but I need your skills to solve this mystery.”

 

_“I’m on my way.”_

 

On his end, Steven disconnected the call, making his image disappear from his father’s screen. The president silently considered his next move for a few minutes, then pressed another button on his desk phone.

 

“Rebecca, hold my calls, would you?”

 

 _“Of course, President Stone.”_ his secretary replied.

 

“Thank you.”

 

After taking his finger off the phone button, President Stone turned his chair around to face a blank screen behind his desk. He reached into his blue business suit and produced a visor, which he put on before pressing another button on his chair. In response to that cue, the screen flickered to life, revealing Finansielle.

 

“Right on time as always, Joseph,” she said, mockingly.

 

“Another Devon cargo transport was hit last night,” he revealed to her. “But you already know that, I’m sure.”

 

“I know you have your son coming back from Orre too,” Finansielle countered.

 

“I couldn’t keep him there when he knows about the campaign against our company. It would attract too much suspicion, and the boy is smart. He might have figured out our connection to you.”

 

“Oh, I’m not worried about that. Keep him on his investigation of the attacks and everything will work out just fine. The loss of the Meteonites there won’t affect our plans too much. Just continue your work on Infinity Energy and the Angel Corporation will fill in the rest. It’s how to use that life energy in everything that we need to perfect.”

 

-:-

 

“Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer…”

 

Back at the HR-E, the hours wiled away, along with Nekou’s few lingering strands of propriety, as she sprawled out drinking from her usual stack of beer cans on the sofa bed.  Matt sighed and put his hand down beside her, listening to her slurring her words slightly as she sang out loud.

 

“I don’t know what’s more frightening,” he said to her, “you singing that song to the end or you drinking all the way to the end of it.”

 

Nekou stopped singing for moment, considering what he said in silence, then quickly downed the entire rest of the can’s contents before throwing it at Matt and taking another. “Take one of that, throw it at Matt, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall.”

 

Other than waving his hand in front of his face in a futile attempt to deflect the can, Matt didn’t react to Nekou’s provocation. He just sat down on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor.

 

“Come on, that was fucking funny,” she argued, sitting up to talk to him. “Even you would laugh at that.”

 

“I’m not in the mood,” Matt said back, remaining still and not looking back even when he felt Nekou crawl across the bed to his side.

 

“Wanna talk about it?”

 

“I shouldn’t lay my problems on you, especially when you look like you’re enjoying yourself right now.” Still no physical reaction.

 

“Come the fuck on, do I look like someone who can’t take things laid on them?” If Matt had been paying closer attention he would have noticed that Nekou actually seemed genuinely offended to some degree, even as she continued teasing him.

 

Ignoring the attempt to bait him with a double meaning, he instead just blurted out a single question. “What’s this Maman person like?”

 

Nekou gasped and fell back, caught completely off guard by what he said. “Why you… why would you ask me that?”

 

“You’ve always been talking about how important she is to you,” Matt explained, his voice remaining flat, empty. “I wish I knew what that felt like, having someone like that.”

 

“Maman is…. Maman, I guess.” Nekou’s lighthearted attitude was gone, and although she was still slightly drunk, she was now completely serious. “I don’t know who I’d be without her. Actually, fuck it, I do know. I was so unhappy and miserable before she took care of me… She made me who I am now. She taught me how to enjoy life and have fun…”

 

Nekou’s words trailed off by the time she finished, getting caught up in the emotions rising inside of her. Matt noticed this, but before he could do more than raise his head, he felt her move to sit with her back against his own.

 

“But as much as I love Maman, I don’t know where I really came from. I don’t know! At least you know where you came from even if they were pieces of shit… I want to at least know who I should hate!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Matt said, finally turning around and putting a hand on Nekou’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have brought this up.”

 

“No, it’s fine. Fuck it. Remember I told you I dream about this screaming woman sometimes?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Sometimes I think she might be my real mother… but if that’s true, how do I… no, nevermind. Why did this suddenly come up?”

 

“I don’t know… I guess… I was thinking about how my father died and I never really cared. That’s not right… what’s wrong with me?”

 

“I already said it, that old man was a real piece of shit. You don’t have to be fucking sentimental if the guy didn’t do anything but hurt you.”

 

“I guess that’s true…” Matt pivoted around and returned to staring at the floor, leading Nekou to put _her_ hand on _his_ shoulder. “Still, what am I doing? What did I do this to myself for?”

 

“You’re asking the wrong fucking person there,” Nekou said, allowing a slight, bitter laugh to slip from her lips. “You know how I am. I do whatever I fucking please to feel good. That’s how I live my life. But don’t you dream of anything? You did kind of strike me as the type who’s not satisfied with the average day to day shit.”

 

“There’s nothing for me here, not anymore,” Matt answered with a sad shake of his head. “When I was a kid I thought it would be nice to go to space one day, I guess. But I’ve long since given up on that… now, it’s find Reshiram to learn the truth behind everything else that happened, and then…”

 

Nekou narrowed her eyes and frowned. “And then what?”

 

“Well, like I said, there’s nothing for me here anymor-”

 

Before Matt even knew what was happening, Nekou grabbed him and threw him down onto his back. She then pinned him down with every ounce of her incredible strength, using her hands to hold down his shoulders while stabbing her knee into his stomach.

 

“Why do I have to keep having this fucking conversation with you?!” she screamed at him. “I know I’ve fucking told you this before! There is nothing after you die! _Nothing!!_ How can you keep being so casual about doing that to yourself?! What about Amanda? What would she say?”

 

“Amanda would be better off,” Matt mumbled, making Nekou gasp in horror. “She’s got a nice peaceful life without me involved in it. Haven’t you noticed how well she’s doing? She doesn’t get dragged into all the drama around me...”

 

“Then what about me?” Nekou sharply countered. “I don’t give a fuck about all your so-called drama! You made me a promise, remember? We’re gonna get through this shit and go to Kalos, remember saying that? Just you and me, remember? And do you remember me saying I would be your bodyguard? How could I do that if you fucking kill yourself? _How?!!_ ”

 

All Matt could do was stare up at Nekou’s face as he absorbed her outburst. He knew what she was saying about his promises was true, but somehow, through his depressed state the meaning of her words didn’t fully register until he noticed tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. That was when it all hit him at once. For all her bizarre behaviors and the strange circumstances around her, Nekou actually did genuinely care about him. Everything he’d said and done in the past had been under the assumption that she didn’t take any of it seriously, that she would just move on from him. But at that point, there was no way he could think anything else. She did take it all seriously, completely seriously.

 

Without thinking, he managed to push his arms upward and pull her down into an embrace. “I’m sorry. You’re right. And to be honest, maybe the drama around you isn’t so bad either.”

 

When she realized he was embracing her more and more tightly instead of letting go, she uttered, “What are you…”

 

“Right now I feel like you’re the only thing that’s consistent. I don’t know what I’m saying… everything is so f _u_ cked up right now, yet you’re always the same by acting like _you_.”

 

Nekou took a moment to absorb what Matt said to her, then settled in with her face against his shoulder. “You’re right, things must be really f _u_ cked up if you’re relying on me.”

 

-:-

 

Meteor Falls, situated on Routes 114 and 115 on Hoenn’s western coast, was a site travelers frequently visited all year-round. It wasn’t just Hoenn residents like Matt and his grandfather who went hiking there. Yet, for such a popular location, it held a secret even Sutter may not have known.

 

Deep in the mountain range, far from the prying eyes of outsiders, was an ancient, underground village. This was the destination of the Mega Salamence trainer crusading against the Devon Corporation. Using one of the secret tunnels known only to her people as an entry, she flew over the village on her Salamence’s back with her Whismur at her side.

 

“Grannie! Grannie!” she called out. The echoing of her voice earned annoyed stares from some of the other residents on the ground, but she cared only about one of them, an elderly woman wearing a cape much like her own. Seeing the village elder near a stone house that stood above the others, the young woman guided her Salamence down to land near her.

 

“Zinnia, it’s good to see you back safe,” the elder said to the young woman as she dismounted her dragon. “Are you sure you weren’t followed?”

 

“Those Devon doofuses won’t ever find this place,” Zinnia dismissively replied. “I’m like a ghost, they’re never gonna see me.”

 

The elder laughed mildly, then walked to Salamence’s side, where she opened the bag slung over his back. “More of these stones…” she listlessly noted upon seeing its contents. “Devon shouldn’t be searching these out so actively. I fear they are aware of the powers these Meteonites contain.”

 

“Roger that,” Zinnia said in agreement. “You think they’re trying to recreate that horrible weapon the fallen king used?”

 

“I don’t know, but that’s exactly why we have to keep going. If the ultimate weapon fell into their hands it would be an unacceptable risk for the entire world.”

 

“And to think they’re trying to do this when we have to destroy that meteoroid up there!” Zinnia angrily dug her heel into the light-colored dirt. “They’re so eager to repeat the sins of the past, but they only want to hear about the parts they can use for profit. We need the Meteonites for Lord Rayquaza, but Devon just can’t stop getting in the way.”

 

“We need to figure out what their bigger picture is,” the elder concluded.

 

-:-

 

On the evening of the final day of their trip toward Olivine City, Matt and the others gathered around a table outside HR-E. He’d prepared a homemade pizza for the entire group as a sort of celebration for their imminent arrival, its aroma and mouthwatering flavor proving so delicious that there was little conversation among the group as they ate it.

 

Nearby, all of their Pokémon were having their own feasts Matt prepared for them. Dewott and Mareep, having spent the past week fighting relentlessly, ate separately from each other, the former with Mr. Mime and the latter with Monroe’s Greninja and Steelix. There were also two additional Pokémon in the crowd - one was a blue crab with a partially-closed eye and claws that resembled boxing gloves, while the other was a pink-and-white bear cub who bore a small, tag-like growth beneath its tail. The pair had a bowl piled high with the pastries from earlier, which they were wolfing down with wild abandon.

 

“This pizza is so good!” Nekou exclaimed after swallowing a huge bite of one slice. “I could eat all of it!”

 

“Good thing I saw ahead and made enough, then,” Matt deadpanned back at her.

 

A hearty laugh went up among those gathered at the table. When it died down, Avril looked toward the Pokémon, specifically the pair of new ones, and sighed.

 

“I’m going to need you to give me the recipe for those pastries,” she said to Matt. “I can already tell Stufful is going to kill me if I don’t give them to him.”

 

“Stufful and Crabrawler already did try to kill us for those,” Bunny clarified. “Granted, Matt was the one who got it the worst…”

 

“There’s a saying about not biting the hand that feeds you,” Nekou added, “but hitting them in the back of their head must be different.”

 

Matt grimaced, then turned to Avril and said, “Sure, I can do that. I’m planning to do the same with Crabrawler, it’s understandable.”

 

“You guys, it’s time.” Olivia had been quietly using her Pokégear during the meal and turned it to show the screen to the others. “That big broadcast is starting soon.”

 

“There’s too many of us to watch on that screen,” Matt said, standing up. “Hang on, let me get something ready…”

 

Matt walked to where his bag was sitting and searched through it, quickly producing his tablet. Setting a stand to hold it up on the far end of the table, he pointed it toward the side of HR-E, allowing it to act like a projector on the mobile home’s wall. He rejoined the others just as a pink-haired woman wearing red-tinted glasses and a high-necked black sweater came on the broadcast, sitting behind a desk and microphone.

 

 _“Welcome, everyone of Kanto, Johto, and the rest of the world, to the inauguration event for the Flare Network.”_ An ‘F’ symbol stylized to look like a flame appeared next to the anchor. _“My name is Malva, and I will be your host for this evening’s events.”_

 

“Isn’t she that model and fashion designer from Kalos?” Bunny wondered out loud. “I remember that name.”

 

“You’re right!” Olivia exclaimed. “I’ve been into her stuff for a while, but seeing her like this didn’t click right away.”

 

“So aren’t you asking yourself why she’d come so far from Kalos just for this?” Bunny put her hand on her chin. “She said ‘people of Kanto, Johto and the rest of the world.’ If she was in Kalos why wouldn’t she say Kalos?”

 

-:-

 

Bunny’s deduction, even if based on little more than a gut reaction to Malva’s words, was entirely correct. She was broadcasting from a studio in the Angel Corporation complex, speaking to cameras manned by staff wearing the symbol of Gabriella’s company, not Lysandre’s.

 

“We will be bringing you a live speech from Angel Plaza in Viridian City, presented by FlareNet founder Lysandre Flordelis and Angel Corporation president Gabriella Bouchard, shortly. Following the speech we will present analysis and news highlighting all the different options for information and entertainment that FlareNet can offer. Before we are joined by Lysandre and Gabriella, here is a statement made previously by President Bouchard.”

 

The Flare Network symbol imposed next to Malva in the broadcast was removed and replaced by footage of Gabriella speaking on the day her company acquired Lysandre’s.

 

_“The acquisition of the media holdings of Lysandre Labs now gives the Angel Corporation ownership of a majority of the world’s media channels. We now have access to all major markets worldwide, with the exception of the Orre Region…”_

 

While the footage played, Malva rested her head on her hand and allowed herself to daydream. She recalled her first meeting with Lysandre at one of her earliest fashion shows. From the moment she entered the industry she knew what kind of people might approach her, which made him even more unusual in her eyes. When he proposed that she join his company, he did it with an impassioned speech about beauty in the world.

 

 _“His favorite topic,”_ she chuckled to herself.

 

It was odd, she had to admit. Yet his overwhelming passion for what he believed ultimately won her over.

 

_“Well, that and the great career opportunity.”_

 

A voice spoke to her through her earpiece, snapping her out of her memory. “Malva, you’re back on in three, two…”

 

“Alright.” Malva clasped her hands together on her desk to help regain her mindset for broadcasting. When one of the Angel Corporation staff pointed to her, she looked to the camera and said, “I am being informed that Director Flordelis and President Bouchard are about to join us, so let’s go live to Angel Plaza.”

 

As she watched one of the monitors within eyesight switch over to a view of the plaza outside the complex, Malva smiled. Lysandre had long talked about his dreams of a beautiful world, and she’d followed him all the way from Kalos to see them begin to come true.

 

-:-

 

As Lysandre stepped onto the stage with Gabriella following closely behind, he waved to the crowd assembled to see him. They were a mix of journalists - all now working for his network - and civilians who’d paid to attend the event.

 

The journalists would be necessary, that he would admit. They’d take his message back to their respective regions and help cultivate it so it could grow and spread. The civilians, on the other hand, were the ones he hated. Spending their money on tickets just to see a speech that would easily be seen via broadcast only reinforced his beliefs about their entitlement. Even as he smiled at them, he silently seethed with rage, thinking of how that money could have gone to help the needy instead. He knew a good number of them had paid higher prices to scalpers for those tickets, too.

 

When he reached his mark on the stage, he managed to tamp down his anger by focusing his mind on his speech. “Thank you!” he said in response to their applause, though his words lacked sincerity. “People of Kanto, Johto, Kalos… indeed, people of much of the world, I thank you and welcome you to this most important day. Allow me to also thank our host and partner in our new endeavors, President Gabriella Bouchard of the Angel Corporation.”

 

Lysandre walked towards Gabriella and led the crowd in applause for her. She timidly waved to them, then gestured to him to continue.

 

Taking her cue, he headed back to the center of the stage, saying as he walked, “This new endeavor Gabriella and I have created, the Flare Network, is as of now linking most of this planet together.” To emphasize his point, Lysandre spread his arms out in a gesture of size, then brought his hands closer together. “Television, radio, web media, and everything in between. Our world has become closer than ever thanks to FlareNet. But, you may be asking yourself why we need this extensive communication so urgently. Why is now the time?”

 

The giant screen looming over the plaza flickered to life when Lysandre gestured to it, displaying scenes of urban sprawl and industrial logging clearing trees away, among other things.

 

“The truth is that this planet has reached a tipping point,” Lysandre continued, his voice cracking with the rage he was barely managing to contain. “Humanity has grown more and more prosperous by the year, and with that, the population has exploded. We can see the results of this unchecked growth all over the world.” Continuing to gesture widely with his arms up in the air, Lysandre elaborated, “The middle of the Kanto region is now a massive metropolis grown out of Saffron City, having consumed the once-beautiful Celadon and turned it into a slum full of pollution and crime. Its Gym Leader even abandoned it and moved to Lavender Town! And just north of where I am speaking to you from now, Route 2 and Viridian Forest are being torn down! Ripped from the earth and discarded like garbage to facilitate even further development!”

Lysandre clenched his fists and turned back to the crowd before him, taking a heavy step that made his shoe crash against the stage. Nearby, Gabriella simply watched in silence and smiled, unnoticed by the eyes of the world.

 

“Well I will not stand by and watch as this happens,” he forcefully said, briefly closing his eyes. “Gabriella and I will show, via FlareNet, the path to a new world. A world where resource depletion is left in the past. A world where we stop destroying our planet before it fights back and Mother Nature destroys us! You might be asking yourself how we plan to accomplish that. The world will still need resources, that is without a doubt. Well, my friends…” Lysandre had to force those two words from his throat, he loathed them so much, “...I ask you, what if there were a way to travel beyond our planet, to reach into the vast sea of stars and find their bounty so we can bring said bounty back to Earth for ourselves? That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I am here to announce this evening!”

 

Lysandre stood near the screen and spread his arms out wide, while on it, an image of a satellite materialized.

 

“I give you AZOTH!” he declared dramatically. “The AZOTH space program, short for Astral Zone Objects for Terrestrial Healing, is a joint venture of the Angel Corporation and Lysandre Labs. We are funding the research and development of a new type of remotely-operated probe system, which will allow us to access celestial bodies and harvest resources that will then be brought back to this planet. And I will tell you where our project will begin.”

 

The image on the screen changed to display a rock of significant size, and Lysandre continued speaking.

 

“This is a meteorite recovered from near Mt. Moon. It is made of a largely unknown, primordial element we have dubbed “Meteonite.” Our research into this element has shown it has great potential for generating and harnessing energy. It truly could prove to be the resource of the future where mankind is liberated from its dependence on the resources of our planet! We have been discovering small amounts of Meteonite worldwide, but in order to use it to create the energy source we envision, we will need a vast supply of the element. Now, do not give up hope yet. It just so happens that there is a tremendous supply of Meteonite relatively not far from Earth as we speak!”

 

Lysandre’s bold claim elicited murmurs from not only the civilian members of the crowd, but the media as well.

 

“It will surprise you, but the meteoroid Persephone-2213, on track to make its closest pass to Earth in one thousand years, is composed entirely of the Meteonite element. Persephone will be the first celestial object AZOTH will visit, and we will mine what Meteonite we need from it remotely, allowing us to obtain its bounty without endangering a single human life on a mission into space! With the AZOTH program, we will guide mankind into a new era of true prosperity while preserving our planet at the same time!”

 

With his speech mostly done, Lysandre faced the crowd and spread his arms again, seemingly anticipating applause. Of course, the attendees had no way of knowing that it was all an act, that he already knew very well what was causing them to react with uncertainty instead.

 

Behind him, the giant screen had filled with static. Gabriella, feigning surprise, turned around to look up at it before allowing an evil smirk to twist her face.

 

-:-

 

“What’s going on with this?” Mitsumi said to Silva, gesturing to the television in their room, which was also filled with static.

  
“We didn’t get our TV service disconnected from the room, did we?”

 

Mitsumi pondered the situation for a second, then walked over to her laptop and began working on it. She pulled up a window from a television streaming service, only to find that it too was consumed by the static.

 

“There is something very wrong taking place here…” she said, her voice hollow.

 

-:-

 

Matt’s group reacted with similar surprise to the interruption of the broadcast, though no words were spoken until something changed. The static suddenly disappeared, replaced by a single, chilling image.

 

It was Polaris’ helix logo, but different from before. Wrapping around the helix and ultimately surrounding where the loop of the ‘P’ formed, were a pair of serpentine Pokémon.

 

Ones frighteningly familiar to Olivia in particular.

 

“Why are there Milotic on there…” she murmured into the edge of her cup.

 

-:-

 

With nearly all of the world looking on, the Polaris logo soon faded, allowing the masked visage of the group’s leader to replace it. He was sitting in an ornate, sculpted throne with a vivid painting forming a vast backdrop.

 

“To all those across the world watching this,” he declared, “I am Father, the shepherd of Polaris. I am here to speak to you directly as the traitor Ghetsis Harmonia tried to pervert our message to increase his own power. His treason against Polaris, and more importantly against you, the people, has been dealt with. With him out of the way, I am now able to bring the truth of Polaris directly to you.

 

The world is indeed at a tipping point. Why has it been brought to such a place, however? I will tell you. In nearly every corner of the planet, society is controlled by a corrupt system that exploits the people for a select few. You know it as the Pokémon League.”

 

Behind his mask, Father had to grunt in anger before he could continue.

 

“They tell you that the life of a Pokémon Trainer is a life of comfort, a life of glory. They fill the heads of your children with fantasies of fame and fortune that pull them from your homes with the siren song of the open world. Nowhere do they speak of the many trainers lacking the blessings of the lucky few to find success, but those are the ones who Polaris and I are here to fight for! Like so many of you listening to my words now, I have lost my own child to the seduction of the Pokémon League. Even as I speak, they are out there exposed to the harm this society so cruelly puts upon them… I will not allow it to continue any further!”

 

By this point, Father’s voice had begun to crack under the weight of his emotion.

 

“From the beginnings that would grow into the modern Pokémon League, this system has had blood on its hands. The empire that once ruled the Tohjo Continent created it in its earliest form as a gladiatorial sport for the entertainment of the masses, meant to give ordinary people a distraction so they would stay compliant with their rulers. A century later, during the first Pokémon League in the Kalos region, the administration ignored warnings of the dangers of disease. Their arrogance led to an epidemic that destroyed many, many families by claiming the lives of countless traveling trainers. We are here to avenge those who were lost by dismantling the corruption that took their lives.”

 

With that, the Polaris leader lifted up his staff, displaying that like the insignia shown when they first hijacked the broadcast, it had a pair of Milotic wrapping around the top.

 

“This Pokémon is Milotic. It’s revered as being the most beautiful Pokémon in the world, and it shall be symbolic of what we hope to achieve. We will restore the true order of this world and tear down the decaying institutions that have led it astray. To prove my words, allow me to reveal the first of our truths to you all: there is a lost eighteenth type of Pokémon! This lost type disappeared during the great war of Kalos three thousand years ago, when the rebels against King AZ’s rule damaged the Life Plate given by Arceus from which its power flowed. Even today Pokémon of this type exist, but they have lost their true attributes because of the Life Plate’s damaged state. However, we have obtained this damaged Life Plate ourselves, and now, to prove the validity of our message, Polaris will restore this type into the present day!”

 

-:-

 

At the Adenosine Base aboard the Angel Corporation’s oil rig, the scientists were watching the speech on multiple monitors in a laboratory. Even though they were Polaris members themselves, they were enraptured with their leader’s words. Just as Father finished describing the lost type and his plans for it, Colress entered the lab, dressed in a new and heavier lab coat that had computer terminals installed on its arms.

 

“Looks like it’s time to get the show on the road,” he said, grinning in excitement as he tapped at the screen on his right arm.

 

In response to his prompts, a mechanism lowered from the ceiling of the lab, containing the large portion of the Meteonite from the Ruins of Alph. The rock was loaded into a gun-like device, pointing downwards at the coffin-shaped object that had been dubbed the Oberon, itself held in place by four metallic arms. Three holographic screens appeared in front of Colress so he could monitor the activity that was about to take place.

 

“And now, here we go!” he announced to the other scientists, before decisively slamming his finger down on a button on the terminal on his arm. “Pixie Plate, awaken!”

 

The Meteonite sparked to life and began to glow brightly. Cables connected to it and flowing down throughout the mechanism soon filled with similar light as its power was siphoned into the gun. Three rings of decreasing size went down the barrel of the device, and each one lit up in turn as the Meteonite’s power passed through them. All the energy clustered at the end of the gun for a brief time before firing down into the Pixie Plate, creating an incredible flash of light as the relic’s power began to reawaken.

 

“Yes, yes!!” Colress cried out. “Let their true power shine once more!”

 

-:-

 

Unbeknownst to Colress or the other Polaris members aboard the rig, as the power of the awakening Pixie Plate surged through the base and into the outside world, one of the Poké Balls in their very own storage chamber was also affected by it. The sphere shook and fell off the pile it was on, causing itself to burst open. A ring-shaped Pokémon wearing several different keys on his body emerged and looked around the room in confusion.

 

“Klef…?”

 

-:-

 

One of the few places not watching Lysandre’s speech, and therefore not seeing Polaris hijack it, was Zinnia’s village beneath Meteor Falls. Their people did not concern themselves with modern technology, instead choosing to live a simplistic existence by the traditions they’d observed for millennia. Because they had no idea of what was taking place outside their village, when Zinnia collapsed while assisting her grandmother in transporting the small Meteonites, it alarmed the elder even more.

 

“Zinnia!” the elder shouted to the younger woman, running to her side as quickly as her aged body would allow her. “Zinnia, what’s wrong?!”

 

“It… it hurts!” Zinnia shrieked as she convulsed on the ground. “It really, really hurts!”

 

“Mum?” Aster said in worry.

 

Zinnia couldn’t meet her Whismur companion’s concern with any further words, merely choking up vomit into the dirt and continuing to violently spasm.

 

-:-

 

On Route 39, Mr. Mime was having a similar reaction to Zinnia’s, though not as violent. He fell over while eating and began to convulse, and when Olivia took notice, she panicked.

 

“Mr. Mime?” she cried out, jumping up at the table so quickly she almost knocked it over. Her jostling caused the projection of Father’s image to briefly break up. “What’s wrong? Mr. Mime, what’s wrong?!”

 

Before Olivia knew it, Nekou was alongside her, putting an arm around her shoulder to lend her friend some strength. Nekou didn’t quite know what was going on either, but her instincts told her to support Olivia, so she did. Matt, Bunny, Avril and Monroe got up and began to follow, but stayed back from clustering too much around the pair.

 

 _“By now the effects of what we have done will be felt worldwide,”_ Father declared as he began to speak once more, pulling the group’s attention back to the projection. _“We have reawakened the power of the Pixie Plate, the one of Arceus’ Life Plates long since considered dead! With the revival of the Pixie Plate, all Fairy-type Pokémon, both purely typed and dual-typed, are regaining their true characteristics and power! This step in evolution will be a scary one for many, no doubt. But Polaris’ message is proved valid. We will restore the world to its natural state and this is the first step! Have no fear at all, as Polaris will be here to help guide you through this new change to what you know. This is merely the first step toward the paradise we promise you. We will foment the development of the new world, giving it the purity of the water that life first emerged from in ancient times. I ask you, no, I beg of you, stand alongside me and the rest of Polaris! Join us and march into the promised future! Join us and be saved!”_

 

With that, the broadcast briefly returned to static, then disconnected completely, leaving the group both dumbfounded and fearful.

 

“What… what just happened?” Monroe stuttered.

 

Olivia drove an anguished fist into the earth beneath her and said out loud, “Dad, why are you doing this?”

 

The magnitude of what Olivia was claiming hit all the others nearly instantly. Despite Nekou getting it first, though, it was actually Bunny who put words to her thoughts before anyone else.

 

“That doesn’t make any sense, Olivia. It can’t be Rich. He’s…”

 

“Dead?” Olivia snapped, turning around so quickly she threw Nekou’s arm off her shoulder. There were tears starting to form in her eyes. “I spent five years trying to trick myself so I didn’t have to deal with the fact he was dead, but you look at what you just saw! Don’t you think it’s just a little bit weird that there were Milotic all over that message? Milotic wrapped around the ‘P’ symbol… his throne had Milotic carved into it… the painting behind him had Milotic in it… and he had a staff with two Milotic on it _and_ wants Milotic to symbolize this pure new world he came up with? And on top of all of _that_ , you heard what he said. His child was taken from him and is out doing the Pokémon League right now! He’s talking about me, he’s looking for me! He’s looking for me after all this time!”

 

-:-

 

A significant crowd had gathered around the television in the lobby of Blackthorn City’s Pokémon Center to watch Lysandre’s speech and thus been yet another captive audience for Father’s appearance. Most of them were still clustered in that area as Malva came back on the broadcast and acted as if she was as surprised as everyone else by what had happened, but there was one young man who separated from the onlookers as soon as Father vanished.

 

“I knew it!” Renzo growled to himself, slamming his fist down into one of the Pokémon Center’s tables. “I knew he wasn’t really dead, that he was just hiding… he’s going to pay for abandoning us!”

 

-:-

 

Several hours later, Matt was back sitting in HR-E’s cockpit, the space illuminated by both the moon and the artificial lights installed in the craft. When the door behind him opened, Matt didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Nekou entering the room.

 

“Did you finally get Olivia to go to sleep?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, but it was a real b _i_ tch,” Nekou replied, flopping down on the sofa bed next to Matt. “I don’t think we can convince her that this Father isn’t Rich. She won’t listen.”

 

“Neither of us are the only person who can help her now,” Matt said. He entered a command into the control keyboard, causing a window showing a telephone to pop open on one of HR-E’s screens.

 

While they waited, Nekou asked Matt, “What do you think? Do you think it’s him?”

 

Before he could answer, the video call connected, and the image of the telephone was replaced by a live feed of Anabel in her penthouse at the Battle Tower. She was visibly tired, with bags forming under her eyes and her long hair fairly unkempt.

 

“Matt? Nekou?” she uttered as soon as she picked up the call. “Why are you calling me now?”

 

“Anabel, I’ll cut right to the chase,” Matt forcefully said. “Did you see that Polaris pirate broadcast during the FlareNet presentation?”

 

“How couldn’t I? Pretty much the entire world saw it.”

 

“Olivia thinks that the ‘Father’ who gave the Polaris speech is _her_ father,” Nekou wasted no time in revealing. “She’s utterly convinced it’s Rich.”

 

As soon as she heard this, Anabel turned even paler than she already was. “How… that can’t be possible… it shouldn’t be…”

 

“It shouldn’t be possible, and yet she’s convinced it’s him.” Matt leaned forward and braced himself against the keyboard. “I was there when Rich died five years ago, and I know what happened afterward. You had his body burned, right? I’m sure you still have the ashes.”

 

“They haven’t left my mantle, so it can’t be him,” Anabel responded. Her voice then turned low, and she asked, “Do you think it could be him?”

 

Matt shut his eyes and put one of his metallic hands on his chin. “You have Rich’s body, that much isn’t in doubt. But I’m thinking about something Sheena once taught me about Tenganist beliefs… she told me about what they call Gaia, the energy that flows through the planet and gives it life. From what she taught me, many Tenganist sects believe that when one dies, their consciousness becomes a part of Gaia’s flow, making their experiences and personality - really, their soul itself - part of the world itself, allowing Earth to keep evolving. I guess what I’m saying is that Rich’s consciousness still existed within the flow of Gaia, if those teachings were correct.”

 

“Then there would be two questions,” Anabel reasoned. “One, how would they be able to pull him back out of the energy flow? And two, how did they give him physical form when I still have the ashes of his body here?”

 

“I can answer that second one,” Nekou blandly said while sarcastically raising her hand. “Polaris is into some super f _u_ cked up science sh _i_ t. You want to talk about how they gave him physical form, they could very well have cloned him from even a little bit of DNA or put his mind into a robotic body or… f _u_ ck it, you get what I’m trying to say. I’ll let him answer the other one.”

 

“I’m not sure I should appreciate that,” Matt said to Nekou before turning back to Anabel. “The only thing I can think of that might explain how Polaris could take Rich’s consciousness out of Gaia is if they have a powerful Transcendence user on their side. I suppose it wouldn’t be impossible that there could be someone whose skill is communicating with the souls within Gaia, and from there it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to think someone could pull one of those souls back out.”

 

“So what you’re saying is that there is a credible chance it is him…” Anabel listlessly concluded, though she suddenly gained a surge of energy when she continued, “He can’t be doing this of his own free will. There’s got to be someone else behind the scenes manipulating him. There’s just no way he really leads Polaris himself…”

 

“I didn’t know him but I think you might be right,” Nekou said to her, “but we can’t conclude that yet. Right now, we need you to meet us in Olivine City tomorrow. Before we can unravel any of these f _u_ cking secrets, we need to help Olivia.”

 

“I agree,” Matt concurred. “We can only do so much to help her. Beyond anything else, right now Olivia needs her mother.”

 

-:-

 

On the other end of the call, Anabel absorbed everything that Matt and Nekou had told her. She took a considerable amount of time to respond to what the pair caring for her daughter said. When she finally did, though, her face turned serious - a deadly, confident type of seriousness that was once extremely common for her. A fire had reawakened in her heart, one that was buried for a long time.

 

“I’ll be there,” she declared. “The Pokémon Center in Olivine City.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**END of CHAPTER 21**

  
  



	22. The Iron Maiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Olivine City, Matt’s group reunites with Amanda and Anabel, as well as Monroe’s father Dominic. Olivia also meets a trainer interested in meeting the new Olivine Gym Leader, who trains a Mawile like he does, but when they go there, a surprising face awaits them. Meanwhile, the greatest fallout yet may come from outside that battle.

 

 

 **CHAPTER 22:** The Iron Maiden

  


-:-

 

A bright but cool morning greeted the people of Johto the day after the hijacking of the Flare Network’s inaugural broadcast. With few clouds in the sun’s way, its rays flooded into Anabel’s penthouse, giving her plenty of natural light as she got herself dressed for her trip.

 

She slipped her suit jacket on and tightened her necktie as she walked from her bed to a nearby mirror. In front of her reflection, she used a long ribbon to tie her hair into a ponytail that went nearly all the way down her back, inspecting the image standing before her all the while.

 

“Black,” she said out loud to herself. “I haven’t worn this much in a long time.”

 

Indeed, it was true that much of her outfit was black, the ribbon being the least of it. Her suit jacket and matching pants were also black, as were her shoes and her tie. The only article of a different color was the white undershirt she had on beneath the jacket.

 

Anxious for the day’s plans to begin playing out, she stepped over to the heavy, ornate dresser set up next to the mirror to finish getting prepared. She first donned a pair of black gloves, then attached a bracelet - also black - to her left wrist. Before she finished putting everything on, she stopped for a moment to examine the crystal set into the bracelet. It was pink, diamond-shaped, and had a pattern resembling an eye within it.

 

“Never did really get too much of a chance to use this yet. I guess that’s going to change… next time I talk to you I’ll have to properly thank you for this gift, Steven.”

 

With that, Anabel put on the last two articles remaining on the dresser - a pair of dark sunglasses and a long, dark blue scarf - then picked up her phone and made her way to her private elevator. The doors opened to allow her access to the marbled interior of the lift, and she wasted no time in pressing the button denoting the lowest floor of the Battle Tower.

 

As the elevator took her down the tower, she was alone with her thoughts. The only source of sound in the car was the radio piping music into its confines. Anabel found herself unable to resist tapping her foot along with what she could hear, an old song whose words spoke of freedom, second chances and other worlds. It was silly and she’d heard it countless times before, but something about it struck her as appropriate as she was on her way to reconnect with her daughter and possibly her old life.

 

She was snapped out of her reverie when her phone started to ring. She reached into her jacket to retrieve it, then tapped its screen and brought it to her ear.

 

“Hello? Oh, it’s great to hear from you!” Whoever was on the other end, speaking to them brought Anabel considerable cheer. “Yeah, I think I might be doing a lot better. I’m feeling like myself today. How’s Lissi? Great, that’s good to know… can you let her know I said hi? Thanks, I appreciate that. What did you call for, though? ...Saffron City, I already know it’s there. Wait… what are you saying? You’re really short? Are you offering me… Oh, no! No! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not refusing. I’m on my way to meet my daughter and her friends in Olivine right now, but I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t be able to be in Saffron. Actually, scratch that. I’ll be there. It’ll be great to see everyone again and have fun. No, thank you, I appreciate you calling me. I’ve been wishing I could reconnect with everyone for a while.”

 

While Anabel conversed with her friend, the elevator stopped at the ground floor of the Battle Tower. She didn’t notice until the doors opened to reveal the facility’s lobby.

 

“Oh, I have to go. Sorry for cutting you short! I can’t wait to see everyone again! See you later!” Anabel put her phone back in her jacket and set out across the lobby, heading for the giant glass wall that the exit was built into. The civilians coming and going took no notice of her, and the staff who saw her knew to give her her space, a courtesy she appreciated.

 

A black limousine was waiting for Anabel in front of the Battle Tower as she made her way outside. She descended the stairs from the facility’s forecourt and approached the chauffeur standing near the vehicle.

 

He opened the back door and gestured for Anabel to enter. “Commissioner Mistbloom, right this way, please. Miss Chiaki has already arrived.”

 

“Yes, thank you,” Anabel replied.

 

The chauffeur closed the door behind Anabel as she settled into the limousine’s plush interior. Once she was comfortable, she took a deep breath and raised her sunglasses.

 

“Anabel, good morning!” Amanda greeted her. Sitting with her cane laid on the seat next to her, Amanda was smiling broadly as she looked in Anabel’s direction. “How are you?”

 

“Doing better than I’ve been doing recently,” Anabel replied, her voice honest but bland in its tone.

 

“You mean it? I’ve been wanting to hear you be more cheery for a long time now.” The two women felt the limousine begin to move, prompting Amanda to lean back in her seat as well. “Think about it, once we get to the heliport we’ll be very close to hooking up with Olivia and Matt. It’s not going to be long now.”

 

“You’re right.” Even though she knew Amanda couldn’t see it, Anabel smiled slightly at the reassurance. She quickly turned dour again, though, and looked up at the roof of the car as she said, “I just worry that I’m losing my connection to Olivia. I was only a peripheral figure in her life for several years, and she’s been growing up… I should have been there with her but I pushed her away. I was responsible for being there for her after what happened five years ago, but I was too caught up in myself. I failed her.”

 

“Anabel… please listen to me. What’s in the past is in the past. Let me tell you what I think… can you get me a drink really quick before I begin?”  
  


“Huh? Oh, yeah, hold on…”

 

Just across from where Anabel was sitting, there was a cube-shaped cooler. She opened it and retrieved a bottle of champagne from its icy confines, then took a pair of tall glasses off a rack on the cooler’s side. She passed one glass to Amanda, then carefully filled both with the bottle’s bubbly contents.

 

Amanda gently swirled her champagne in her glass, took a sip, and finally said, “Ah, that’s nice. Anyway, what’s in the past can’t be changed. I learned that after losing my sight so long ago… even if Matt manages to figure out a way to help me see again, I’ll never be able to see what’s happened over all the years I’ve been blind. It was tough to deal with at first, but eventually I came to realize it makes everything in the future I might be able to see that much more beautiful.”

 

“That makes a lot of sense, Amanda…” Anabel said. Staring at her reflection in her own glass, she caught herself showing a smile whose sincerity surprised her. “Thank you. How did you and Matt stay so close during that time?”

 

Quite unexpectedly for Anabel, Amanda actually laughed in response to her question, though Amanda quickly realized the potential wrong impression her doing so could create. “No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. It just made me remember something really funny that we did once. The real answer to that is that while Matt did take care of me, obsessively so even, he also tried to arrange stuff for us to do together so we could have the closest thing to a normal life the circumstances we were in would allow. It helped us stick together by giving us things to share other than the bad things going on. What you should do going forward is find things you can do with Olivia that you guys can share together.”

 

“I think I can do that.” Anabel raised her glass to her lips and took a sip of her champagne. “What’s something you and Matt did? Was one of those activities why you laughed?”

 

“Yes, actually!” Amanda replied. “This one time, he actually made plans for us at a karaoke club! Can you imagine, a little blind girl in a wheelchair who can’t see the lyrics and _him_?” Anabel nearly spit out her champagne at this, prompting Amanda to laugh again as well. “We listened to a lot of music in our apartment in Rustboro so he arranged for it to only be songs we already had committed to memory, to make up for me not being able to see the lyrics. Makes sense, right?”

 

“Right,” Anabel agreed, regaining her composure.

 

“Well, that little blind girl in a wheelchair who couldn’t see the lyrics absolutely kicked his ass at it. It was legendarily bad, but in the sense that it was such a fun disaster that we couldn’t help walking out of there ten times closer than we were going in.”

 

“Mental note,” Anabel said, deliberately saying it out loud so Amanda could hear it, “take Olivia to karaoke clubs. Don’t take Amanda.”

 

At that, Amanda threw back her head and laughed so hard her eyes watered up. For her part, Anabel just smiled once more and again sipped from her champagne glass.

 

-:-

 

In Olivine City, Mitsumi stood cross-armed at the windows of her hotel room, gazing out over the metropolis sprawling before her. She didn’t have anything she wanted to say, but was still lost in thought, so there an uncomfortable silence hung in the air between her and Silva. For his part, he was sitting on his bed reviewing files.

 

The silence was broken when Mitsumi’s phone started to ring. Silva looked to her, only to see her remaining rigidly in place in front of the window. He opened his mouth to ask if she heard the phone, but his words faded in his throat when he saw her tightening her grip so tightly on her own arms that he imagined she had to be cutting off her own circulation.

 

“Answer it,” she abruptly said.

 

“Yes, alright…”

 

Immediately, Silva was on his feet, rushing over to pick up the phone. He nearly fell on his face more than once, but managed to collect the device and compose himself enough to speak to the person on the other end. They conversed for a short time while Mitsumi stayed cemented where she was, her attention remaining fixed on the buildings outside.

 

“Thank you, I understand. I’ll let her know.” Silva tapped the screen of the phone to end the call, then set it down on the table where Mitsumi had left it. He took several steps towards her, but did not draw very close. “Mitsumi, we got something on one of our perps. Some citizens of Olivine called in to local police and they tipped us off.”

 

“Who is it?” Mitsumi demanded, not moving an inch.

 

“Ghetsis’ partner, Zinzolin. He was seen in Olivine City, so we should be able to pick him up no problem.”

 

“No problem?!” Silva had no way of knowing it, but Mitsumi’s internal rage had been building up the entire time she stared out the window. Her silence had largely masked her escalating emotions, but when Silva described their mission in the way he did, it exploded. She lashed around to face him and yelled, “Looker wants us to put our mission aside and accept help from Team Rocket to bring down Polaris and whatever this Dark Matter is! Doesn’t that bother you?”

 

“Well… yeah, but…” Caught off guard by Mitsumi’s outburst, Silva struggled to find his words. “You trust Looker, right? He wouldn’t steer us wrong…”

 

“You’ve been my partner for long enough to know how I feel about things like this,” Mitsumi retorted. “Looker’s pragmatic. He’s able to think in terms of the ends. That’s why it was so easy for him to work with Team Rocket on taking out Team Plasma and Team...Team…” Mitsumi suddenly found herself unable to continue speaking, temporarily checked by another geyser of emotions welling up within her. She managed to find the strength to force herself to continue, saying, “...Team Galactic. Me on the other hand… I hate all these teams! I want to rip them apart with my own hands! And we don’t just have to deal with Team Rocket for this case, we have to go through that Matt Chiaki for information, too… “ She stomped her foot in anger. “I hate him! I could kill him when I see him again!”

 

“Mitsumi, please, calm down!” Silva pleaded, his voice reflecting his desperation. “You have authority, you’re way more powerful than any of them! You hold all the cards!”

 

Mitsumi drew in a single sharp breath and froze, wide-eyed, as her thoughts finally caught up with her emotions. She remained perfectly still, not even breathing, for a few moments before stumbling over to Silva’s bed, where she sat down.

 

“Silva, I’m… I’m sorry,” she apologized, holding her head and breathing deeply to try and regain her stability. She reached blindly toward the nightstand, where she eventually found a pen she subconsciously began clicking. “I shouldn’t have taken that out on you… it’s not your fault.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Silva said to her. “I read your file when they assigned us to be partners, you know that. I wouldn’t blame you if you were even more angry than this.”

 

“Silva… thank you.”

 

-:-

 

There were a number of things Olivine City could boast of about itself. Its Glitter Lighthouse was a famous landmark, and its ports hosted vessels that traveled worldwide. Its previous Gym Leader, Jasmine, was one of the first trainers to specialize in the Steel-type. In more recent years, Olivine was one of the cities in Johto that saw significant investment, leading to the development of an increasingly well-known resort area and the expansion of its cuisine.

 

One of these more recent improvements was a new, high-tech Pokémon Center near the entrance to the city. A massive, cube-shaped structure made nearly entirely of glass, it stood out in the city’s north where the development had not yet fully reached. As they entered through the building’s sliding doors, Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny, Avril and Monroe marveled at its equally spectacular interior. Where most other Pokémon Centers had ordinary televisions, this one had a hologram of significant size for viewers to gather around. Other smaller holograms dotted throughout the lobby offered virtually any kind of information a traveler visiting the Pokémon Center could need. The tables and chairs around the spacious room reflected a look of modern art, an image furthered by the huge lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling.

 

There were a fair number of other visitors scattered around the lobby, but only one person ahead in the line as the group approached the front desk. From behind, the figure’s shoulder-length hair and purple, knitted cat-ear hat gave them the impression that it was a girl of similar stature to Olivia, dressed similarly as well. Yet, as soon as the nurse returned with a Mawile and five other Poké Balls, prompting the trainer to speak, his soft and gentle voice was still unmistakably male.

 

“Mawlly, how’re you feeling?” he said to the Mawile. Ignoring his question, she jumped into his arms and used the iron jaws on her head to pull his hat off. He sighed and said, “Mawlly, I want to get our vacation going as much as you do, but you know we have to find Olivia first.”

 

“Isn’t that funny?” Olivia said over her shoulder to Nekou. “He’s looking for someone named…”

 

As soon as she turned her head back around, Olivia found herself face-to-face with the feminine-looking young man, who looked shocked. “Olivia?!!”

 

Olivia stepped back, nearly colliding with Bunny as she did so. “Seriously? Is there like, no other person with the name Olivia out there?”

 

“What are the odds, I know, right?” The trainer started to extend his hand toward Olivia, but his manner suddenly turned nervous, and he hesitated. “My name’s… Morgan, that’s it. Professor Juniper sent me out here to find you.”

 

“What’s going on with her?” Olivia tilted her head inquisitively as she spoke. “Did something happen?”

 

“No, no, I don’t think you’d call it that…” Though she said nothing, Olivia noticed just how different Morgan’s attitude was when he was interacting with someone he was meeting for the first time. He was much more timid than when talking to someone she assumed he knew for a long time like Mawlly. “Maybe you would. There’ve been Pokémon from regions like Kalos and Alola showing up here, regions that aren’t supposed to be part of the migration project…”

 

“We came across some already,” Matt interjected. He saw Morgan shoot a nervous glance in his direction, but felt it would be even more rude to stop talking without clarifying what he meant. “I caught a Crabrawler the other day, and she-” he gestured to Avril, “-caught a Stufful.”

 

“That’s right, I did,” Avril piped up from the back of the group.

 

Morgan kept his head down and didn’t look at any of them. “You did? That’s… interesting… Anyway, Professor Juniper wanted me to find you. Wait, I said that already. She wanted me to tell you to keep checking out any of the foreign Pokémon you see with your Pokédex, and she also wanted me to give you an upgrade for the unexpected ones.”

 

“That makes sense, I guess,” Olivia replied with a shrug. “You want me to give you my Pokédex for the update, or…?”

 

“Nah, it’s easier than that. These things are all high tech now.” Morgan produced his own Pokédex from his jacket pocket and pressed a button on it several times, making a white-and-black square appear on its screen. Holding it out toward Olivia, he said, “Just scan this with your Pokédex, and you’ll get all the data.”

 

“Alright, that’s easy enough.”

 

Olivia followed Morgan’s instructions and held her Pokédex over his, allowing it to begin scanning the square. While the download progressed, Olivia glanced over to the device in Morgan’s hand and took notice of a sticker on it depicting a Koffing drawn in a neon purple spray paint style.

 

“Koffing and the Toxics?” she inquired.

 

“You know them?” Morgan said in surprise.

 

“Yeah, their music is pretty good.”

 

“You’ve got good taste.” Morgan visibly relaxed as he realized he and Olivia had something in common. Meanwhile, a beeping sound came from Olivia’s Pokédex, signifying the download was finished. “All done,” he said, returning his Pokédex to his pocket.

 

“So Juniper wants me to keep doing what I’ve been doing with this?” Olivia asked him as she stepped past and towards the desk.

 

“That’s right. The data on these foreign Pokémon is all in there, she wants to get documentation of them in this region.”

 

“I got it.” She then turned to the nurse, who was waiting patiently on the other side of the desk, and said, “Could you take care of my Pokémon? I’d like you to have a special look at my Mr. Mime… he got really sick last night.”

 

“Last night?” the nurse repeated.”Was it during that strange phenomenon that took place during the Polaris speech?”

 

Olivia put her hand on her face and thought for a moment, then exclaimed, “It was!”

 

“In that case, I’ll check him to make sure, but it may be that he has undergone a type change.”

 

“A type change?” Olivia said, blinking back at the nurse as a puzzled expression settled over her face. The nurse nodded back in affirmation, moving a hand over Mr. Mime’s Poké Ball as she moved it back to the machine behind the counter.

 

“Ever since that event happened, we’ve gotten in several Pokémon who, upon examination, reflected a type that never came in before. Just since last night, it’s been a Snubbull, then a Clefairy, then a Togepi. Oh, and especially that Mawile… the Fairy-type, I think they called it.”

 

“Will he be okay?”

 

It wasn’t the nurse who answered. It was Morgan, who stepped up alongside her with Mawlly still holding on to his hat in her steel jaws. “Mawlly got sick just like you said your Mr. Mime did, but you can see she’s _perfectly_ fine now.”

 

“That’s reassuring, thanks.”

 

Standing alongside Nekou and Bunny, Matt couldn’t help but smile as he watched Olivia’s casual, easygoing interactions with Morgan.

 

 _“It’s good to see her making new friends,”_ he thought, _“especially now… if it helps take her mind off-”_

 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of someone wrapping their arms around him from behind. Before he could question who it was, they said, “I couldn’t wait to see you again, Matt. Well, _see_ you… you get what I mean.”

 

“Same to you, Amanda. And if you’re here, that means…”

 

Having turned around from the Pokémon Center’s desk, Olivia charged through the group of her friends toward the suited figure behind them. “Mom!!” she cried out, throwing herself into Anabel’s arms.

 

Anabel stumbled from the surprisingly strong force of Olivia running into her, but quickly recovered and embraced her daughter. Nothing immediate had to be said between them. Olivia’s soft sobs and Anabel’s gentle stroking of her hair communicated everything.

 

“Is it really him?” Olivia whimpered into the lapel of Anabel’s suit. “Was that Dad on TV last night?”

 

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” Anabel said, continuing to stroke Olivia’s hair in an attempt to reassure her. “You and me. I’m going to be there for you now. Together we’ll find out if that’s him, and if it is, we’ll bring him back to his senses.”

 

“Thanks, Mom…” Her sobs subsided, and Olivia instead nestled herself more deeply into the arms of her mother. Anabel held her more tightly and looked up at the others, briefly locking eyes with Nekou, who frowned, bit her lip and turned away.

 

Nekou’s actions struck Anabel as odd, but before she could question them, another familiar voice intervened. “You two are so close, it brings a tear to my eye.”

 

The group turned in the direction of the Pokémon Center’s entrance to see Dominic walking up to them, a suitcase in his right hand. Monroe immediately reached out and hugged his father, while Avril approached him, but left it to Dominic to reach out and touch her.

 

“Dominic, you brought the papers, right?” Matt asked of the businessman.

 

“I sure did.”

 

“Good.” Turning to the others, Matt said, “I’ve got to go over these documents for licensing ALEA to the Angel Corporation. That’s going to take a little bit of time.”

 

“Wait,” Amanda interrupted, stepping toward Matt and taking out a Quick Ball. “Before you get started with all of that, I brought you that new Pokémon I mentioned, Dragalge.”

 

“It’s in here?” he asked as he accepted the sphere. He put his arm around his sister’s shoulder and said,  “Thank you, Amanda. How is everyone else doing?”

 

“They’re all doing great! Manticore still doesn’t get along all that well with Charlotte, but I think it’s starting to turn into more of a rivalry than a hatred, you know? Especially now that I evolved Charlotte into an Eelektross with a Thunder Stone.”

 

“You what?” Matt said in surprise. “What led to that?”

 

“Like I said, it’s more of a rivalry between her and Manticore now. If I trade Manticore back to you, she’ll reach the final stage of her evolution, and Charlotte knows that. Anabel and I could tell she wanted to keep up.”

 

“That’s… interesting, to say the least. I’ll have to try both of them out at my next Battle Frontier challenge…”

 

“Speaking of which, I’ve got an idea!” Olivia piped up, separating herself from Anabel for the time being. “We’re going to all go together to the Gym, right? Well, if they’re going to be doing paperwork for a little while…” she gestured to Matt and Dominic as she spoke, “...what about if Morgan and I have a battle to pass the time?”

 

“I’m not so great at battling, you know…” Morgan sighed. “But I guess I can give it a try. I hope you’re not thinking you’ll practice against Mawlly though…” As if trying to accentuate her trainer’s point, Mawlly stopped playing with his hat in her jaws and growled, but then absentmindedly went right back to what she was doing. “You see how she is. I promised her that our trip to Johto would be a vacation so she’s annoyed we’re working.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Olivia assured him, “it’ll work out.”

 

“Yeah, it will,” Anabel said to the others. “We’ll finish up our business here, go to the Gym and once that’s all done, we’ll have a nice celebration since we’re all here together. Morgan, you can come too.”

 

“Thank you!” Morgan happily replied. “What sort of celebration? I love pizza…”

 

“Matt makes one hell of a pizza,” Nekou commented, recalling with great contentment the dinner of the night before. “You should get some.”

 

“No, no. While that does sound quite delicious…” Anabel put a gloved hand on Nekou’s shoulder and continued, “...I was thinking something different for us tonight.” Looking squarely at Matt, Anabel put forth a question to the entire group. “How about karaoke?”

 

“Amanda, you didn’t…” Matt’s perpetually pale skin started to turn red when he realized what Anabel’s question meant.

 

Immediately perceiving the presence of something greater from Matt’s reaction, Nekou smirked. Matt found himself staring at her, Anabel and Amanda, all wearing three nearly identical faces that made obvious the mischief they intended to cause for him.

 

“This sounds like one f _u_ cking good story,” Nekou sarcastically said, her eyes remaining fixed on Matt even while she spoke to Anabel and Amanda.

 

“Oh, trust me,” Anabel answered, “it is.”

 

-:-

 

Elsewhere in Olivine City, a figure hid in the shadows of an alley, watching the people and cars go by. They didn’t seem to take notice of him, and that was exactly how he wanted it.

 

“Too many prying eyes around,” Zinzolin bitterly noted to himself. “How troublesome. Even now, if I’m seen before I can get out of this country, I won’t be safe from Polaris…”

 

Ghetsis’ underling shivered in the cold air, a byproduct of having discarded his easily recognizable hat at the same time he removed the Team Plasma symbol from his coat. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn’t be able to reach the port right away. He took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from where he had them stashed in his coat, but when he tried to light one, he was unable to get a flame going.

 

“What a useless flame, one that cannot piece even this marginal cold…” he grumbled.

 

“Want a light?”

 

Zinzolin hadn’t seen Mitsumi slip up next to him in the alley, so when she suddenly spoke he nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise. He was certain that Polaris had found him, so when he twisted around only to see a young woman casually leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette of her own, he sighed in relief.

 

“Oh, good, you’re not one of them…” Zinzolin didn’t speak loudly enough for Mitsumi to hear him, even though his words were seemingly directed at her. “Maybe I’ll be safe after all.”

 

“Sounds like you’re in a real situation.” Mitsumi was merely pretending to be unaware of who Zinzolin was or what he was talking about, but acting in such a way was an internal struggle for her. Just under the surface she was burning with anger at him, the disappearance of his Team Plasma insignia meaning nothing for how she saw him. Barely keeping herself from lashing out, she continued forcing her neutral expression as she said, “I tend to need a smoke when I get stressed out, too, so believe me when I tell you I know what you’re feeling. Here.”

 

Mitsumi held her lighter out to Zinzolin, a gesture the elderly man took with a sense of pleasant surprise.

 

“You’re a rare generous child, I must say,” he complimented her as he put his own lighter away, completely unaware of the trap he was walking into. “I thank you for your kindness.”

 

Without another word, Mitsumi flicked her lighter to life, enticing Zinzolin to light his cigarette with it. He did so, then took a long drag on it, closing his eyes in an attempt to relieve some of his stress.

 

Closing his eyes was Zinzolin’s final, critical mistake.

 

While he attempted to relax, Mitsumi closed her lighter, only to open a hidden hatch on its bottom. Inside was a small electrical coil, and just as Zinzolin exhaled a cloud of smoke, Mitsumi jammed the coil into his neck. Stunned by the electric shock, Zinzolin dropped his cigarette and stumbled for several steps before falling to his knees.

 

“That was the Sparking Lighter,” Mitsumi bitterly told him, even though he was too stunned to process what she said. As she returned the lighter to its place on her tactical suit, she stomped out the smoldering cigarette, then took out a set of handcuffs attached to a rope. Tilting her head back so she could look down on him with a harsh gaze, she declared, “ _These_ are the Adjustable Handcuffs.”

 

With a flick of her wrist, Mitsumi threw the handcuffs toward Zinzolin. One half fixed itself around his right arm, giving Mitsumi the opportunity to pull it up and bind his left arm as well.

 

“You’re, you’re…” Zinzolin stuttered, only gradually recovering from the combination of his shock from her actions and the literal shock he received from her weapon.

 

“ _You’re_ Zinzolin from Team Plasma and Polaris, and _you’re_ under arrest.” Lowering herself so she’d be closer to Zinzolin’s head, she continued, “I’m Agent Mitsumi of the International Police.”

 

“I-International Police…?” By then, Zinzolin had regained some of his composure, but he was still absorbing how his fortunes had turned so quickly. “What do you want with me?”

 

“Are you seriously asking me that?” Mitsumi wasn’t joking, either - she genuinely couldn’t believe what he’d asked. Looking back down the alley, she called out, “Come and help me out here.”

 

Silva emerged from where he had concealed himself, and as he joined his partner, he said to her, “You really do get the job done.”

 

“The job’s not done yet,” she countered. “Come on, let’s bring him in and then find the others…”

 

Mitsumi and Silva pulled Zinzolin to his feet, but before they could get very far at all with him, he dug his feet into the ground and did the best he could to resist being forced to move.

 

“Find the others? What do you mean by find the others?”

 

“That’s not any of your business,” Mitsumi warned, “so don’t ask again.”

 

“You’re looking for the others who were loyal to Ghetsis, aren’t you?” he deduced from Mitsumi’s reaction. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know!”

 

Though Mitsumi tried to ignore Zinzolin’s offer, Silva stopped walking, bringing the entire group to a halt.

 

“Wait, Mitsumi, let’s hear him out. What if he’s really got something to offer?”

 

Mitsumi didn’t answer. She didn’t try to keep forcing Zinzolin along, either, but she showed her displeasure with a sharp huff as she turned away.

 

 _“I get what you mean, Mitsumi. Thanks for listening to me.”_ Silva tapped Zinzolin on the shoulder, then asked him, “What exactly are you willing to tell us?”

 

“Anything,” Zinzolin repeated. “You want Team Plasma? Polaris? I’ll give you the details I know on anything you want! I want protection from Polaris, and if you give me that, I’ll tell you everything I know!”

 

Without releasing his grip on the rope attached to the Adjustable Handcuffs, Silva took several steps away from Zinzolin and gestured for Mitsumi to join him.

 

“It sounds like a deal we should think about,” he whispered to Mitsumi once she joined him. “He might be able to give us enough to understand the way Team Rocket, Team Plasma and Polaris are all connected together.”

 

“You seriously aren’t even entertaining the possibility he’s lying to get protection?”

 

“But he didn’t ask for protection from justice,” Silva argued, “he asked for protection from Polaris. If he just wanted to get off the hook for his crimes wouldn’t he have asked for that?”

 

Mitsumi paused to consider Silva’s opinion, then bitterly replied, “Offer him protection depending upon him giving us real information first. That’s as far as I’m willing to go.”

 

-:-

 

Out behind the Olivine City Pokémon Center, Nekou, Bunny, Anabel, Avril and Monroe all sat alongside each other and watched as Olivia’s Mareep and Morgan’s Misdreavus clashed. Mareep’s Thunderbolt cut down one of Misdreavus’ Shadow Ball attacks, showering the earthy battlefield in bright, glowing sparks. As the light of the collision faded, both Olivia and Mareep regarded the scene with similarly wild, aggressive grins.

 

“You don’t hold back, do you?” Morgan said to her, his own heavy breathing matching that of his Misdreavus.

 

“Hey, that’s true, but you’re still standing, aren’t you?” Olivia countered, punctuating her sharp words by putting her fists on her hips and leaning forward. “You and Misdreavus are keeping up! The way you’re doing, you should challenge the Gym too!”

 

“You think so?” Morgan seemed momentarily taken aback by Olivia’s compliment. He then looked at Mawlly, who was sitting next to him eating honey-covered cookies and barely paying attention to the battle, and sighed. “I have to keep my promise. No more work after this. Only vacation.”

 

Olivia pouted. “I don’t get it. Why not make it part of your vacation?”

 

“You should ask Mawlly that,” Morgan replied, gesturing to his Pokémon, still sitting at his side ignoring what was going on. “She never stops giving it to me if she isn’t happy, but I’d do anything for her. What about that Mareep of yours? The professor never told me you had one.”

 

“I got her not too long ago, she’s the most recent Pokémon I caught.”

 

“Well she really is something else, then! Wednesday and I have been together for a while and Mareep’s still pushing us pretty far!”

 

While Morgan’s praise brought out genuine smiles in both Olivia and Mareep, there was another whose reaction could not have been more different. Standing among Olivia’s other Pokémon on the sidelines near the human spectators, Dewott heard Morgan’s recognition of Mareep and became so angry he nearly threw one of his shells straight at the electric sheep. He restrained himself at the last possible moment, and instead threw it straight into the ground.

 

“She might be pushing you far, but when this is done, she’ll push you right over the edge!” Olivia remained unaware of Dewott’s anger and jealousy, which her words only stoked further. “Mareep, Thunderbolt!”

 

“Wednesday, show Olivia you can push back! Do it with your own Thunderbolt!”

 

Both Pokémon released bright bolts of lightning from their bodies, creating a great flash where they collided. Most of the onlookers had to shield their eyes from the light, but Anabel remained still, her eyes already well protected behind her sunglasses.

 

“She’s compensating, I can tell,” Anabel said out loud to the others, though she didn’t direct it at anyone in particular. “Even now I can still tell exactly what my daughter is feeling.”

 

“In what way?” Bunny asked, her gaze unmoving from the battle playing out before her.

 

“She’s trying to make it look like she’s carrying herself with confidence, but in reality she’s faking it. But she isn’t faking it for us, not alone. What she’s trying to do is fool herself. What happened last night really has shaken her to the core… I can tell.”

 

“Maman…” The word slipped out of Nekou’s mouth before she could stop it, and it took several long, awkward moments before she decided to keep talking. “Maman’s the same way with me. She’s always known me better than I know myself…” Suddenly, Nekou grabbed Anabel’s hand, visibly surprising Olivia’s mother, and said to her, “Don’t ever lose that with Olivia! Do anything you have to do to keep it alive! She needs it more than you even know!”

 

The abrupt nature of Nekou’s outburst caught Anabel off guard, leading to another awkward pause in the conversation. When she composed herself, though, she put her own hand on top of Nekou’s, effectively reversing who was holding whose hand. “Thank you for looking after Olivia for so long. I know she really likes you, and I have to admit that you were there for her when I wasn’t. Thank you.”

 

A sharp tightness swiftly welled up in Nekou’s chest, and she pulled her hand away from Anabel before she even realized she was doing it. When her mind caught up with her, she brought her hand to her heart as she felt her body suddenly become cold.

 

 _“I can’t do this, I can’t…”_ she thought to herself, clenching her fist tightly in the hopes that the pain would keep her from acknowledging Anabel’s visible confusion.

 

Back on the battlefield, Mareep was rushing toward Wednesday, her tail shining like well-polished metal. Wednesday remained unyielding in the face of the oncoming attack, showing not one trace of fear or concern.

 

“Wednesday, use Shadow Ball!” Morgan directed his Misdreavus.

 

By opening her mouth and growling, Wednesday formed a Shadow Ball in front of herself. Instead of launching it as she would usually do, though, she tilted her entire body backwards, raising it up so it would intercept Mareep’s descent. Mareep swung her tail right into the dark sphere, causing it to explode; the force threw Mareep up into the air while pushing Wednesday into the ground.

 

Just as Mareep landed, Wednesday was pulling herself out of the dirt and preparing for more. The sparks coursing through Mareep’s wool made clear she intended to deliver. Though both Pokémon were breathing heavily, they were both too fired up to want to stop.

 

Before either Olivia or Morgan could give another command, Matt’s voice interrupted. “Looks like this was really competitive.”

 

He was arriving flanked by Amanda on his left and Dominic on his right. While Avril and Monroe’s father greeted his children and the others with a silent smile and a wave of his hand, Amanda was cheerfully talking to her brother.

 

“It was competitive, you said?” she asked him. “Tell me what happened! I want to know how they did!”

 

“Why don’t you hear it directly from them?” Matt replied. Beckoning them with his hand, he called out to them, “Olivia, come on over and tell my sister about your battle, would you?”

 

“You guys got done quicker than I expected,” Olivia said. She took a single step in Matt and Amanda’s direction, and that single step was one too many for her Pokémon.

 

Realizing that her trainer was stepping away from the battle and thus ending it, Mareep cried out angrily and turned her rage onto Wednesday, who was simply floating next to Morgan and didn’t immediately realize she was being targeted. Mareep growled and began to charge electricity in her wool. Olivia pulled out Mareep’s Poké Ball with such haste that the sphere nearly flew out of her hand.

 

While Olivia finished recalling Mareep and made her way over to Matt and Amanda, Morgan approached Anabel and the others on the sidelines. “Man, really, what is with that Mareep of hers?” he asked them. “Mawlly tends to be the ornery type, but that Mareep is something else.”

 

“Another trainer released it in the National Park,” Monroe answered. “It was too much for him to handle, from what I saw… Olivia caught it a while later. I think it was following us because it saw all the fighting it would get to do with her and thought it could satisfy itself.”

 

“It’s gonna be a real beast at the Gym, I…” Morgan was interrupted by Mawlly tugging on his leg. She started chattering at him, and he waited until he understood what she was saying. “I think that’s a good idea,” he said to her. “I want to see what happens at the Gym, too. We’ll go with them.

 

Morgan didn’t notice, and neither did Monroe, but while they conversed about Mareep’s strength and the Gym, Avril clenched her teeth and pushed her foot harder and harder into the ground.

 

-:-

 

The old, rusted metal of the cell door grated loudly as Sheena opened it, allowing Jacob and Looker out for what would be the final time. Pierce stood against the back wall of the room, watching wordlessly as the detective and the aged archeologist exited their confines, beckoned by the woman who had come to be a champion for his own dreams.

 

“I’ll be ready soon to send you two back to where you came from,” Sheena explained to the pair, “so until then, I’ll let you be here freely. I’ve come to know I can trust the two of you.”

 

“Making haste to Olivine City, where my apprentices are, that is what I must be doing,” Looker said to her. “Your help in that, it would be most appreciated.”

 

“Then that’s where I’ll have Hoopa send you.”

 

Jacob had been standing behind Looker in silence ever since Sheena entered the room to free them, but his biting his lip didn’t help him stay quiet for long. “Please, Sheena, let me stay here!” he suddenly burst out, making both her and Looker jump.

 

“Back to prison is where you are headed!” the detective snapped back at his charge. “Allowing you to take advantage of these people to escape justice, I won’t let you!”

 

“I’m not taking advantage of them, I swear!” Jacob countered, his desperation causing his voice to sound strained until he calmed slightly. “I’ve spent most of my life beating myself for what happened to this place and to Saeko, but I also never believed I’d ever return here.” Looking to Sheena, Jacob firmly locked his gaze into her big, blue eyes. “I think I survived that train crash for a reason. Sheena, since you brought me here, I’ve seen that there’s still hope for this land and your people, the kind I long since had given up on as impossible. If there’s any chance I can ever find penance for what I’ve done, it’s by helping you in your mission. Please, let me stay and help you.”

 

“I do appreciate what you have done and want to do for both me and my people…” Sheena said, “...but I must also concur with Looker. It’s not up to me what justice you face for your crimes.”

 

“I admire your will,” Jacob complimented. “I don’t want to stay permanently. I want only to help you restore this place into the sanctuary you said you wanted it to be. That, and I must make sure you don’t destroy yourself with the Jewel of Life… I failed Saeko decades ago. I can’t fail you too. Once everything is done I will gladly go back to prison where I belong, you two have my word.”

 

“Jacob, I…” Sheena was taken aback by Jacob’s sudden and earnest plea. She couldn’t help but bring her hand up to the furred collar of her coat. Seeing how stunned she was, Looker started to step in, but she recovered enough to speak again before he could. “I believe you are sincere, so I will allow you to stay. However, there are conditions.”

 

“What are they?”

 

“You’ll be sleeping in the cell like you already have been. When you come out, you’re going to be staying with me instead of going off on your own. If you’re truthful about wanting to help us, you shouldn’t have a problem with either of those. Follow these rules and you can stay, but if you betray us, I will send you directly back to the custody of people who are a lot less willing to make deals with you. Do you understand?”

 

“Crystal clear,” Jacob replied.

 

 _“I cannot be saying I’m entirely happy with events how they have turned out this way,”_ Looker thought to himself, _“but Sheena is a person who is someone that proved herself to be trustworthy. I can place my faith that she will keep a watchful eye over him…”_

 

Having patiently waited until Sheena seemed done with Jacob and Looker, Pierce approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Sheena.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I wish to go to Olivine City as well. I must rejoin my team for our next operation against Polaris.”

 

“I hope you don't need our help this time,” Sheena flatly said. “We need time to regroup.”

 

“It’s fine, I didn’t expect you to help with this. There’s no rescuing going on this time, just an operation we hope will cripple Polaris’ advances. You don’t have any stake in this… generally or personally.” Pierce’s voice became softer and more compassionate. “Take your time and recover. You’ve been through a lot… this time is not your fight.”

 

“Thank you,” Sheena delicately said back, before leaving the room without another word.

 

-:-

 

It was a bright, sunny day over Viridian City, but with the environment Gabriella had placed herself in, she wouldn’t know. She had the windows of her Angel Tower office completely darkened, leaving the only light in the room to come from the lamp on her desk and the huge video screen mounted on the wall opposite it.

 

“I simply cannot wait until you see my new projects bear fruit, Lady Finansielle.” On the monitor, Colress was grinning in smug self-satisfaction as he mindlessly tapped his fingers against one of the screens on his sleeves. “Making investments in me always will pay off.”

 

“Oh, do clue me in,” Gabriella requested, reclining in her chair with her arms behind her head and her legs up on her desk. “I like seeing where my money goes.”

 

“Then you’re going to _love_ this.” Colress stepped to the side, allowing Gabriella to see a glowing, cylindrical tank behind him. An insectoid figure, floating in some unknown fluid, was contained within. “I’m back on the best thing to come from working for Mister Ghetsis in Unova. With the new resources you’ve provided to me, I will be able to perfect Genesect and put it into mass production!” Giddy over the thought, Colress shut his eyes and balled his hands into fists. “Imagine, an army of autonomous weapons that function on their own but solely for _our_ benefit!”

 

“Don’t let me be the one to rain on your parade,” the financier replied, her nonchalant demeanor remaining completely unchanged, “but it’ll be tough to justify this to the other Chromosomes. You know what Polaris teaches about mixing biological matter with cybernetics.”

 

“This one is merely a prototype, Lady Finansielle, let me assure you of that. By the time I’m done with upgrading the bio-frame according to the new specs I’ve developed, there will be no question. My new weapon will comply with _all_ their teachings.” After pushing his visor up, Colress smirked wickedly. “But of course, what matters isn’t what they think. It’s what _you_ think that counts, isn’t it?”

 

Gabriella took her feet off her desk, leaned forward and returned Colress’ expression. “You’re a swift learner.”

 

“It comes with having a mind like mine, Lady Finansielle,” Colress said.

 

“It does, it does,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand. “Listen, Colress. I want you to start preparing to move over to the Guanosine Base near Mahogany Town to continue your work.”

 

Colress’ smug expression faded, his mouth narrowing as he puckered his lips. “I’ll do it, but what’s the reasoning behind the move?” he asked.

 

Gabriella lowered her head ever so slightly, allowing the glittering from the water in her pool to reflect in her eyes. “The Angel Corporation will need to shut down the oil platform soon. If you’re asking yourself why, I’ll tell you... that you’ll know soon enough. Sorry, I just had to have a little fun with you!”

 

“Lady Finansielle…” Colress shut his eyes, smiled and shook his head. “I would expect no less from you, as wise as your words always end up being.”

 

-:-

 

“So this is it… Olivine Gym.”

 

Olivia, having arrived first at the metallic, pyramid-like structure emblazoned with the stylized Poké Ball symbol all Pokémon Gyms bore, boldly faced it down as if it was a sentient being. Fortunately, nobody else was trying to get inside the Gym at the time, as Olivia placed herself squarely in the pathway to its entrance, standing there with her hands on her hips as the others finally caught up with her.

 

“Olivia, slow down!” Matt called after her. “You know we’re not going to start until everyone’s together!”

 

“I’m telling you, it’s compensation,” Anabel murmured to Nekou and Bunny. “She’s so enthusiastic about this because she thinks it’s going to help salve the pain of what she saw the other night.”

 

“Can you blame her?” Nekou replied, though she turned her eyes away from Anabel as she spoke. Her voice was hollow, as if her mind was detached from the words her mouth was producing. “In that regard, we’re pretty alike, her and I… sh _i_ t we like is what makes our bad thoughts go away…”

 

Anabel considered trying to find out exactly what Nekou meant, but decided against pursuing the subject.

 

“It sounds like you and Olivia do have quite a bit in common,” Anabel instead offered. “If she gives you support the same way you do for her… that’s something I’d really like to see. Just having you here supporting her against this Gym Leader means a lot to her, I’m sure.”

 

The group, having caught up with Olivia, passed through the automatic doors at the entrance to the Gym. Immediately beyond the threshold lay a lobby whose walls were covered with silvery iron plates. Strangely, despite being the access to a Pokémon Gym in a large city, the lobby was completely empty.

 

Sensing the confusion of his childrens’ friends, Dominic volunteered, “Don’t worry, the Gym Leader’s here. I promise.”

 

Meanwhile, Morgan and Mawlly walked side-by-side near the back of the group, with only Avril behind them.

 

“You know, Mawlly, I’ve heard online that this Gym Leader has a Mawile, too.” Morgan said to his diminutive companion. “Not only that, but they say this Gym Leader is able to use Mega Evolution with that Mawile, too! Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

 

Mawlly huffed and turned away, acting like she didn’t care. Morgan knew her too well, though, and he saw through her facade to the interest she was trying to mask.

 

“That’s right, she’s a Steel-type Gym Leader, just like the old Gym Leader here was,” he continued. “The old one who got promoted to the Elite Four, they used to call her the “Steel-Clad Defense Girl,” but this one, her title is “The Iron Maiden.” Doesn’t that make you wonder what else might be different between them?”

 

“Maw,” Mawlly said dismissively. She did, however, turn around and jump to grab Morgan’s arm.

 

“I get you, don’t worry.” Understanding what Mawlly wanted, Morgan gave her another bag of the honey cookies, which she eagerly tore into and began eating as they walked.

  


Both Morgan and Mawlly remained unaware of how Avril, following behind them and listening to their conversation, was reacting. She stared down at the floor in silence, her head starting to shake from her distress.

 

It wasn’t long before they found themselves at another doorway. Unlike the previous set, this gateway resembled the metallic look of much of the rest of the Gym. Dominic pushed through to the front of the group and opened the doors before any of them could question him.

 

Past that set of doors awaited what Olivia eagerly anticipated - the battlefield. This one was a simple, earthy space with the requisite lines drawn into the dirt. Olivia made a beeline straight for the challenger’s box, while most of the others made their way past the metal walls surrounding the field and entered the spectators’ area. Matt, Bunny and Anabel all glanced over at Avril in surprise when she stomped over, threw herself down next to them and stared sullenly at the floor.

 

Olivia didn’t notice Avril. She was more puzzled by what was going on right in front of her: instead of joining the others on the sidelines, Dominic went to the middle of the field, while Monroe headed all the way down to an archway opposite where she stood. She cocked her head as she looked back and forth between father and son, trying to reason out what they were doing.

 

“Well, here goes nothing,” Dominic said to himself, slipping his fingers into the knot of his tie to loosen it. Once he did this, his expression shifted - where there had been humble humor before, there was now the hardened look of someone who would take no nonsense. “And now, the beginning of this battle in the Olivine Gym!” He extended his right arm to Olivia and announced, “The challenger, Olivia of Sootopolis City!”

 

In response to her name being called, Olivia took a single firm step forward. She steeled herself, still unsure of what exactly she was going to end up facing.

 

“Now, the new Gym Leader of Olivine Gym…” When Dominic raised his left arm towards the archway, Olivia realized that Monroe had, at some point, disappeared down it.

 

Immediately, her mind flashed back to the war with Ghetsis’ forces in Ecruteak, when she had been confronted by the Shadow Triad. _“Back then, Monroe helped hold them back… with a Steelix,”_ she silently recalled. _“Wait, it can’t be. The Gym Leader is a girl, I heard them say that. Then why is he…?”_

 

“...introducing Helena, the Iron Maiden!”

 

Everything made sense once Dominic finished his declaration and Monroe emerged again, his tall, redheaded sister walking gracefully behind him. Whereas Matt and many of the other spectators watched Helena’s arrival with great surprise, Olivia just laughed.

 

“For a minute I almost thought it was _you_ , Monroe!” she called out. “Then I remembered that the Gym Leader’s title meant it was a girl, so I was wondering…”

 

While Olivia trailed off, Monroe signed everything she said. Helena took note of this, then said, “It’s nice to see you again, Olivia. You and all your friends.”

 

Matt turned to Amanda, who was facing the battlefield and smiling warmly. Adding up what he was seeing, he asked her, “Amanda, you knew all about this already, didn’t you?”

 

“I have to admit that I did,” she replied. “Of course I would know that one of my students was taking the Gym Leader test.”

 

“And this would also explain what’s up with you,” Nekou said to Avril, who was still pouting at the far end of the seating. “Wouldn’t it.”

 

“Imagine how it feels to know that both your brother and your sister are way stronger than you can ever hope to be,” she muttered into the floor. “I didn’t get to train enough. I’ll never beat her.”

 

“If it makes you feel any better,” Morgan ventured, “I didn’t even really want to go on a journey or anything like that. My parents pushed me to do it. Even now I just like hanging out and living my life.”

 

“What’s your point?” Avril snapped.

 

“Don’t feel too pressured to live up to whatever your dad or your brother and sister are. Be yourself.”

 

Though surprised by Morgan’s advice, Avril said nothing. She did turn her eyes up to watch Olivia and Helena, but continued to sulk at the same time.

 

“It’s been quite a long time since we last met, Olivia,” Helena serenely noted. “How many Badges have you collected to this point?”

 

“I’ve got three,” Olivia answered promptly. “The Hive Badge, the Plain Badge, and the Fog Badge.”

 

Monroe signed this for Helena, allowing her to say, “Since you have three Badges, this battle will be a four-on-four Single Battle. Are you ready?”

 

“Of course I am!” Olivia enthusiastically replied. “Let’s do it!”

 

“Very well. Let’s see how this all ends up, shall we?”

 

With that, Helena casually tossed a Poké Ball. The sphere burst open to release a small, silver-bodied insect Pokémon with vicious looking mandibles and narrow red eyes. She hissed menacingly while Olivia took out her Pokédex to scan her.

 

_“Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon. Type is Bug/Steel. Durant dig nests in mountains. They build their complicated, interconnected tunnels in mazes. They attack in groups and cover themselves in steel armor to protect themselves from Heatmor, their natural predator.”_

 

“Alright, a Steel-and-Bug-type, huh? In that case, I’ll go with… Krabby, let’s play!”

 

Olivia’s Krabby emerged from his Poké Ball and took shape opposite Durant. With both Pokémon present, Dominic stepped back and raised both of his arms into the air.

 

“The first match will be Olivia’s Krabby versus Helena’s Durant!” he announced. “Begin!”

 

Helena didn’t need Monroe to sign anything to her to know the battle had begun - watching her father was enough. “Durant, Bug Bite!” she called out, wasting no time in getting started.

 

If anything, Olivia was anticipating that Durant would rush straight for Krabby. She was already forming a plan for that, so when Durant leapt into the air with incredible speed and strength, all Olivia could do was was gasp.

 

“It’s fast!” she exclaimed, looking up at Durant. “Krabby, look out!”

 

Krabby knew he had to move, but Durant’s speed was too great for him, just as it was for his trainer. He had no time to move before Durant was upon him, descending with her mandibles open. Krabby braced himself to get bit, only to have another of his and Olivia’s expectations defied - at the last possible second, Durant’s aim faltered, causing her to hit the ground next to Krabby instead.

 

Well aware of how dangerous a swift Pokémon like Durant would be in close quarters, Olivia wasted no time in giving Krabby a direction. “Quick, Krabby, use Mud Shot!”

 

After stumbling back, Krabby pointed his pincers at Durant and opened them, shooting twin balls of mud at the Bug-and-Steel-type. The mud hit Durant at point-blank range and stuck to her body, bogging down her movements.

 

“You’ve got enough speed to spare, Durant.” Even Helena’s mid-battle encouragement of her Pokémon was calm and dignified. She brought her hand to her mouth, then extended her arm and said, “Give Krabby a quick taste of your Metal Claw.”

 

“Krabby, Bubble Beam!” Olivia countered.

 

Durant shook off the mud as best she could and, though still slowed by it, lunged at Krabby with her mandibles glowing like polished steel. What agility she still had was more than enough to preempt Krabby’s Bubble Beam, pushing him back but not significantly hurting him. He responded quickly and decisively, barraging Durant with a flood of powerful bubbles.

 

“You’re doing well, Olivia. I’m happy you were my first challenger.” Off in the stands, Avril huffed loudly at this, but Monroe didn’t alert Helena to it. “I cannot go easy on you, though.”

 

“I wouldn’t want you to!” Olivia shouted in reply. “Bring on more! Come on!”

 

“She sure is intense,” Morgan said to Mawlly, who was sitting next to him and eating her cookies. “It’s almost scary.”

 

“This isn’t right,” Anabel muttered from behind her scarf. “She’s faking it, I can tell…”

 

“If more is what you want, more is what you shall get,” Helena promised. “Durant, see what you can do with Rock Slide.”

 

Once again, Durant started hissing loudly. This time her antennae glowed, and ribbons of similar white light surrounded her body. These ribbons soon turned into a number of rugged stones that Durant propelled toward Krabby by pushing herself in the Water-type’s direction.

 

The assault was swift, with the rocks unencumbered by the mud. Yet, Durant’s aim faltered, much like it had when she used Bug Bite. The stones ended up missing Krabby and falling around him in a roughly circular pattern.

 

Olivia, realizing the opportunity that was presenting itself, swung herself forward and shouted, “Krabby, hit Durant with another Bubble Beam!”

 

Shaking off the daze the stones landing around him left him in, Krabby blasted Durant with bubbles again. She snapped her jaws at them, managing to burst a few before they hit her. The rest didn’t seem to faze her much, in fact, she only started hissing even more.

 

“Is Durant having trouble?” Bunny asked aloud. “Some of its moves are missing at the last minute…”

 

“Helena’s Durant has Hustle as its ability,” Amanda explained, “so its physical strength is enhanced, but at the same time, Durant has a little bit of trouble landing them.”

 

“Oh, that makes sense…” Matt said into his hands, which he had clasped in front of his mouth.

 

On her side of the battlefield, Helena held her chin as she considered what she was seeing. “As much as I like having you as my first challenger, Olivia, I think it’s about time I stopped toying with you.” After she issued her warning, Helena’s demeanor changed. She raised her arm into the air and called out, “Durant, I ask that you use Hone Claws!”

 

At this command, Durant snapped her mandibles shut for a moment before spreading them widely open again. As she let out an ear-splitting screech, light enveloped her mouth and grew out from it, making her mandibles appear longer and even sharper.

 

“Now Durant will be even stronger,” Nekou noted, “but the downside of Hustle is pretty much negated, too…”

 

“If she was in a healthy frame of mind, Olivia would be able to get around this.” Anabel tucked her head even deeper into the constraining warmth of her scarf. “But like this…”

 

“Krabby, just watch out and be careful!” Olivia shouted to her Pokémon, unknowingly confirming Anabel’s fears. “See if you can get another Bubble Beam!”

 

“Durant, Bug Bite!”

 

Krabby readied himself and aimed his pincers at Durant, but he had no time to launch his Bubble Beam before she rushed and caught his body squarely in her newly-strengthened grip. All he could do was flail his claws and legs around, fruitlessly trying to hit something with enough force to make Durant let go. With Olivia and all the onlookers watching in horror, Durant spent some time chewing on Krabby before lashing around and flinging him into one of the walls surrounding the arena.

 

“I think all we need now is a nice Rock Slide,” Helena declared, her posh manner returning.

 

Durant complied, sending a cluster of rocks - larger than the ones that had missed earlier - flooding over Krabby. The stones completely covered him until both he and the rocks fell off the wall together. When he collapsed to the ground, he didn’t get up.

 

“Krabby is unable to battle!” Dominic announced, raising his arm in his daughter’s direction. “The winner is Durant!”

 

“Well, that sure ended quickly…” Bunny said.

 

Olivia lowered her head, allowing her bangs to cover her eyes while she recalled Krabby to his Poké Ball. She hesitated briefly, then looked up and forced a smile onto her face. “Krabby, you did a great job, even if you didn’t win! Thanks to you, we’ll definitely beat that Durant!”

 

Off on the sidelines, Anabel pushed her sunglasses closer to her eyes, crossed her arms, and frowned behind her scarf. Although she couldn’t see Anabel’s face from where she was sitting, Nekou could tell exactly how she was feeling just by glancing at her.

 

“So what will you show me next?” Helena asked Olivia. “We’re only just getting started, after all.”

 

“What you’ve shown me is that Durant knows Bug Bite, Metal Claw, Rock Slide and Hone Claws,” Olivia replied, her bold nature seemingly resurfacing. “So I need something to fight that. In that case, Mareep, let’s play!”

 

When Mareep materialized from the new Poké Ball Olivia threw, Morgan immediately turned to Avril. “Does your sister know about that thing yet?”

 

Avril wordlessly shook her head.

 

“Then she better watch out. You saw how vicious that Mareep is…”

 

“Let’s not waste any more time, Olivia.” Helena pointed squarely at Mareep and said, “Durant, use Bug Bite again.”

 

“Get it with Thunder Wave before it hits you, Mareep!”

 

Durant sprang into the air again, like she had done when she first started fighting Krabby. But unlike Krabby, Mareep wasn’t rattled by Durant’s speed. She met the oncoming attack directly with a ring of blue electricity, which paralyzed Durant upon contact. With her opponent’s movements impaired, Mareep ran beneath Durant and got behind her long before the Steel-and-Bug-type landed.

 

“We did some damage with Krabby, so let’s go for a knockout here!” Olivia shouted in encouragement, earning a bleat of agreement from Mareep. “Thunderbolt!”

 

Realizing what was about to happen from the sparks coming to life in Mareep’s wool, Helena hurriedly directed Durant, “Try to use Rock Slide as a shield!”

 

Helena’s efforts were for naught, though, as the paralysis brought on by Thunder Wave rendered Durant unable to act quickly enough. Mareep struck her with a wide, powerful blast of electricity, easily enveloping her small body. The assault only ceased when Mareep could no longer force it to keep going, leaving Durant lying prone on the ground, her steel body covered in burn marks.

 

“Durant is unable to continue battling!” Dominic judged, bringing the battle back to even terms. “The winner is Mareep!”

 

Mareep let out a victorious bleat as Helena recalled her fallen opponent. Olivia, meanwhile, became so excited that she jumped into the air.

 

“Amazing, Mareep! You really helped me turn that around!”

 

The electric sheep let sparks dance on her fleece and looked back, giving a triumphant bleat that seemed to ooze cocky self-satisfaction to all present. As quickly as her celebratory spell had come upon her, Mareep trained her attention back towards Helena’s side of the field, pawing her feet impatiently in anticipation of her next challenger.

 

“Well done, Olivia, well done.” Helena softly clapped her hands together to accompany her words of praise. “Durant’s pretty tough, but you managed to get through her armor. Let’s see what you do with this next one.”

 

Helena gently tossed a new Poké Ball, which burst open to release a Wormadam wearing a pink cloak. A Bug-and-Steel-type like her predecessor in the battle, she stretched her pink, ribbon-like arms and yawned, aware of Mareep’s presence but not terribly concerned.

 

For Mareep’s part, the electric sheep knew Wormadam wasn’t afraid of her. Seeing Wormadam sit so casually in front of her made her boil with rage, enough so that her wool was already giving off sparks.

 

“What do you think, Mareep? Want to get this going?” Olivia asked her, standing with her hands on her hips. When Mareep responded with an angry bleat, Olivia told her, “Fine, then. Let’s get started with Thunder Wave!”

 

“A status for a status, then. Wormadam, Toxic.”

 

While Mareep sent another ring of blue electricity towards Wormadam, Wormadam responded by extending her arms in Mareep’s direction and shooting out two jets of thick, purple poison. Mareep was quick enough to lower herself against the floor and just barely dodge the poison, but Wormadam did not have the same agility. The Thunder Wave washed over her, sending a numbing sensation through her body. Yet, she remained as calm as she had been from the moment she appeared.

 

“Close, but I don’t think Mareep can keep that up forever,” Morgan observed. “Poison has a way of catching up with you if you get pressed with it. That’s what I’ve seen, anyway.”

 

Contrary to Morgan’s expectations, however, Helena didn’t continue pressing Toxic. Instead, she said, “Fine, if that didn’t work, we’ll just move forward. Wormadam, use Hidden Power.”

 

Several glowing orbs of brown light surrounded Wormadam’s body and began revolving around her.

 

Seeing this opening, Olivia quickly countered, calling out, “Hit Wormadam with Thunderbolt, hurry!”

 

Mareep was more than happy to listen, loosing a bolt of electricity that arced through the air and struck Wormadam with great force. Despite that, Wormadam maintained enough focus to continue feeding energy into her Hidden Power, soon afterward releasing the orbs so they could hone in on Mareep. Mareep jumped out of the way of the first two, but the third clipped her leg as she tried to evade it, slowing her enough for the rest to strike her. Unlike everything else she’d been hit with, it was Wormadam’s Hidden Power that finally drew a cry of pain from the otherwise vicious Mareep.

 

“Mareep!” Olivia cried out. Her mind started racing, sending a bead of sweat rolling down her face. In an attempt to calm herself, she took several deep breaths. “For that to happen, that Hidden Power… it has to be Ground-type. Mareep,” she called to her Pokémon, “we can't let this take too long! Use Thunderbolt and give it everything you’ve got!”

 

Mareep didn’t need to hear it twice. With an ear splitting cry that echoed off the Gym’s metal walls, she tore through the air with a Thunderbolt many times more intense than any of the previous ones. There was no way Wormadam would have enough agility to escape, so she steeled herself, tightening the muscles in her sturdy body to endure the strike. Her cloak was left scorched, but her firm gaze clearly showed that her spirit was not broken.

 

“Even that wasn’t enough?” Olivia said through gritted teeth, rattled by Wormadam’s determination.

 

“I think you’ll find that I have some more tricks up my sleeve.” Though unaware of what Olivia had just said, Helena’s taunt was still an appropriate one for the situation. “Wormadam, now, head up into the rafters!”

 

On her trainer’s urging, Wormadam jumped into the air, uncoiled her antenna and used it to grab hold of a metal pylon at the corner of the battlefield. Olivia and all the others watched as she swung her body to build up momentum and begin spinning on the pole.

 

“Mareep, use Thunderbolt on there!” Olivia cried. “It’s like a lightning rod!”

 

Mareep discharged electricity from her wool and aimed it straight for the pylon, but with all the momentum she’d built up, Wormadam was too fast this time. Right before the electricity struck the pole, she released her grip on it and flung herself high into the air, where she used her antenna to hang from an overhead girder.

 

While Mareep glared up at Wormadam and growled, Helena urged her Pokémon, “Bring Mareep in, now. Flash Cannon!”

 

From her new vantage point, Wormadam swung back and bombarded the battlefield with small, explosive bursts of light. Each one wasn’t aimed quite squarely at Mareep, so she was able to evade them fairly easily, but at the same time they kept her running until she was nearly directly beneath Wormadam’s position.

 

“Alright, Wormadam, surround Mareep with Toxic!”

 

“Oh no!” Olivia gasped, realizing what Helena was planning to do. “Mareep, get out of there!”

 

There was no hope that Mareep could escape from Wormadam’s trap, no matter how much Olivia pleaded for her to. Wormadam spewed poison directly in front of where Mareep was running, then surrounded her with it by spinning in a circle around the girder she was holding on to. Mareep forced herself to a stop, only to turn around and discover that she was encircled by the toxin.

 

“So what does she do now?” Morgan wondered aloud. “Stay there and be a sitting duck, or step in that poison to get away?”

 

For her part, Olivia didn’t have an answer to Morgan’s question. Her eyes rocketed back and forth between Mareep and Wormadam, her breathing rapid and shallow as she searched for a solution.

 

“I’ve got Mareep right where I want her,” Helena said. She snapped her fingers and called out, “Hidden Power!”

 

Another set of the glowing brown orbs flicked to life around Wormadam’s body. Unlike before, they grew to their full size rather quickly, allowing Wormadam to keep up her offense with little delay. Mareep, unable to escape thanks to all the poison surrounding her, couldn’t do anything before the orbs barraged her and exploded.

 

Gasps and tense grimaces settled among the spectators in Matt's party. With a blow like that, Mareep would be on her last legs, if not already out cold from Wormadam's assault. If Mareep were knocked out this early in the fight, would she really have an opportunity to still turn things around?

 

Suddenly, light erupted from amidst the smoke left by the explosion of Wormadam’s Hidden Power, accompanied by a deafening scream. Olivia and all her friends, save for Amanda, watched in awe as the bursting light forced the smoke away, revealing the silhouette of a bipedal figure.

 

“Mareep…?” Olivia uttered breathlessly.

 

“Fla-aaaaah!” the Pokémon shrieked from the center of the light. A massive Thunderbolt erupted out of her body, easily engulfing Wormadam as the Bug-and-Steel-type hung overhead. Now it was Helena who could do nothing but watch as the lightning flickered and faded, revealing Wormadam lying on the floor with what used to be Mareep standing over her.

 

“Mareep, you…” Olivia’s shock quickly gave way to the realization that the pink-and-white creature before her was no longer Mareep. “You evolved! You did it! Thank you!” she cheered.

 

Such was Olivia’s joy that she completely failed to notice another of her Poké Balls beginning to tremble. Within it, Dewott was aware of Mareep’s evolution into a Flaaffy and so angered by it that he almost broke out of the ball under his own volition to confront her.

 

“That was impressive,” Helena admitted after recalling her fainted Wormadam. “I thought I had Mareep… well, Flaaffy now, I guess. I thought I had Flaaffy right where I wanted her. No matter, we’re only halfway done… are you ready to step this up to the next level?”

 

As excited as she was over her fortunes, Olivia felt a chill when Helena said that. “I’m ready for anything you can throw at me!” she said back, masking her nerves.

 

“She’s going to regret saying that,” Avril grumbled to herself.

 

“Then let me show you something,” Helena replied once she knew what Olivia said. “Let’s try this one!”

 

When she threw her third Poké Ball, Helena summoned a Pokémon that looked nearly identical to the Klink she showed Olivia at Earl’s school, only with a larger third gear stuck to the back of its body. Olivia dutifully retrieved her Pokédex and scanned it.

 

_“Klang, the Gear Pokémon. Type is Steel. Evolved form of Klink. By changing the direction in which it rotates, it communicates its feelings to others. When angry, it rotates faster. Spinning minigears are rotated at high speed and repeatedly fired away, but it is dangerous if the gears don’t return.”_

 

 _“That gives me some idea of what to expect,”_ Olivia thought. With the Pokédex’s information in mind, she raised up Flaaffy’s Poké Ball to recall her. “Take a break, Flaaffy, I’m going to need you later.”

 

“I didn’t expect that,” Anabel observed, raising her sunglasses onto her forehead. “She’s got some strategy going on after all.”

 

“Who do you think is going to be next?” Matt’s question wasn’t directed at any one particular person around him, and none of them answered.

 

“I think I have exactly what I need for this one,” Olivia said as she got ready to throw a new Poké Ball of her own. “Herdier, let’s play!”

 

Once released from his ball, Herdier recognized that he’d be fighting Klang and turned back to look at Olivia.

 

“I know you can do it, Herdier,” she encouraged him. “I’ll help you out.”

 

Acknowledging her with an enthusiastic bark, Herdier brought his attention back to his opponent and lowered himself in preparation for battle. Klang responded by slightly slowing its perpetual rotation, both of its faces eerily unmoving.

 

Seizing the initiative, Olivia called out, “Herdier, use Work Up!”

 

“Very well,” Helena responded once she saw the red aura that surrounded Herdier’s body. “Klang, you use Autotomize.”

 

A horrible, ear splitting screeching noise filled the room as Klang rotated increasingly faster, forcing all the humans and Pokémon aside from Helena herself to protect their ears. The small gear with one of Klang’s faces on it suddenly separated from its larger body, and the noise stopped.

 

“Autotomize makes the user able to move around much faster,” Bunny recalled.

 

“But that’s not the only thing,” Amanda added, “it gets lighter, too.”

 

Helena waited for a moment before doing anything, taking the time to watch Olivia glancing back and forth between the two now-independent parts of Klang’s body. When Olivia took no immediate action, Helena closed her eyes, smiled and said, “It’s up to me, then. Klang, use Mirror Shot.”

 

The green core of Klang’s larger body flashed with a bright white light, followed by it firing a beam of similar light at Herdier.

 

“Quick, Herdier, dodge it!”

 

Herdier jumped up into the air, following Olivia’s instruction. Klang’s Mirror Shot struck the ground where he had been standing and dissipated harmlessly, but despite this, Helena kept smiling.

 

“That’s what I hoped you’d do.” Gently pushing her right hand forward, Helena called to her Pokémon, “Gear Grind!”

 

The smaller of Klang’s gears had worked its way behind Herdier while he was distracted dodging Mirror Shot, giving it an easy opening to ambush and collide with him while spinning even faster. It then returned to the larger body and reconnected for a brief moment before shooting back out the other way, hitting Herdier a second time from the front.

 

The force of the dual impacts sent Herdier dropping back down to the ground, but he quickly got up. _“Doesn’t seem like that hurt him too much,”_ Olivia noted to herself, _“and my plan from what the Pokédex said looks like it should work.”_ Responding to Helena’s gesture by thrusting her own hand forward, Olivia shouted, “Herdier, use Crunch on the big gear!”

 

Herdier dug his feet into the ground and used the leverage to spring forward, baring his fangs in preparation to bite Klang’s larger body. Before he could get close enough to strike, though, the two parts of Klang’s body darted past him in different directions, switching places with the greatly enhanced speed afforded to it via Autotomize.

 

“Charge Beam!”

 

Now facing Herdier directly, the smaller gear swiftly pulled static electricity from around itself and launched a beam of it straight into Herdier’s face, knocking him away and again dropping him to the ground.

 

“Do you really think she’s got a plan for this?” Matt asked Anabel. “It looks like Klang is running circles around Herdier. Literally.”

 

“I’m encouraged,” Anabel replied. “Her confidence right now is genuine.”

 

“You doing alright?” Olivia said to Herdier as he picked himself up. He responded with an energetic bark, reassuring her. _“I’m not too worried about these individual hits, they don’t seem like they’re doing much… but Charge Beam could be a problem if it starts getting stronger. I can’t wait anymore!”_ Feeling her confidence swell, Olivia yelled out in a voice just slightly too loud, “Work Up, again!”

 

Helena watched Herdier strengthen himself further with a puzzled look. _“I’m unsure what she intends to accomplish with that…”_ she thought, though she quickly pushed these concerns aside. “Let’s go with what we know, Klang. Mirror Shot!”

 

The two halves of Klang’s body swiftly exchanged places again, with the bigger gear taking its place in front of Herdier again. It wasn’t long before it fired another of the bright, white beams at him, but both Herdier and his trainer were ready for it.

 

“Dodge it again, Herdier!”

 

When Herdier jumped into the air again, Helena furrowed her brow even further. _“She’s got to know what I’m going to do here. Is this a trap? Herdier should be vulnerable, but I can’t help but think this is a trap…”_ Unable to conclude exactly what Olivia was planning, Helena decided to push on with her own strategy. “Gear Grind!”

 

“Exactly what I wanted.” Grinning widely, Olivia pumped her clenched fist straight up into the air. “Herdier, Crunch - on that small gear behind you!”

 

After having control of the battle virtually from the start, Helena finally had to gasp in surprise when she saw Herdier flip over in mid-air and catch Klang’s smaller gear in his teeth. It started groaning in a robotic voice, while its larger body started to shake violently.

 

“Give Klang that gear back, Herdier!”

 

Taking the momentum from Klang’s failed attack, Herdier spun around and flung the small gear toward the larger one. The small gear directly hit the large gear’s core, critically injuring them and making them screech loudly. They joined back together again, but could only revolve slowly while floating weakly in the air.

 

“I’m impressed!” Helena complimented. “I thought you were leading me into a trap but I couldn’t figure out just where it was.”

 

“Thanks, but I’m not done yet!” Olivia said back. “Herdier, use your full power Crunch and finish Klang off!”

 

Olivia’s rush of confidence was infectious - the excitement in her words gave Herdier all the energy he needed to leap on his weakened prey and push it to the ground. The strength he drew from using Work Up helped him bite into Klang’s metal body. Once he had a firm grip on the gear Pokémon, Herdier thrashed it back and forth before finally jamming it into the dirt.

 

When Klang robotically groaned but then tilted backward and fell still, Dominic made the announcement, “Klang is unable to battle! The winner is Herdier!”

 

“We did it!” Olivia exclaimed in excitement. Herdier ran to her and jumped up to lick her face. “You did it, Herdier! Thank you!”

 

“They’re so close now!” Matt couldn’t help but stand up. “Only one more Pokémon to go!”

 

Even Avril was showing some interest in the battle by then. She was still sulking, but instead of staring at the floor, she had started actually watching it.

 

“Maybe she really is worth having as a rival,” Avril mused. “I can’t let her get too far ahead of me… even if that road even goes through Helena…”

 

Back on the battlefield, Helena looked down at the Poké Ball in her hand. “You did well, Klang,” she said to her Pokémon within it. “This has been exactly what I wanted my first battle as Gym Leader to be.”

 

After putting Klang’s Poké Ball away, Helena shifted her gaze to Olivia. Where she had been formal and gentle before, there was now a look of hardened determination that gave Olivia a chill. “I mean that,” she said, her voice as serious as her face. “Olivia, when I said I was glad you were my first challenger, I meant it. You’ve given me everything I could have wished for… I hope I get to have battles like this all the time. But all good things have to come to an end. I am still the Gym Leader, and you are still the challenger…” Helena took out one last Poké Ball and pulled her arm back to throw it. “...so it’s about time I showed you where you fit in that picture!”

 

The Poké Ball erupted in a burst of light, and from it emerged another Mawile, one that was a bit taller and bulkier than Mawlly was. The presence of Helena’s Mawile immediately cemented the attention of both Morgan and Mawlly on her side of the battlefield, especially when they took notice of the band around the Mawile’s body.

 

“The rumors were true!” he exclaimed. “Mawlly, do you see it? Do you?”

 

Morgan’s urging ended up lost on Mawlly, as it so often was. Still, she was more than aware of the other Mawile and what he was wearing. It was enough to make even Mawlly enraptured, the cookies in her hands completely forgotten.

 

Attached to the band was a pink stone with a yellow-and-black Mega Evolution symbol within it.

 

Seeing the stone made much of Olivia’s confidence drain away in an instant. “A Mega Stone…” she whispered listlessly, putting her hands over her mouth. “So Mawile can…”

 

Helena lifted her left arm in front of herself, then pulled back her sleeve, revealing a silver bracelet patterned with gray hexagons on her wrist. Set within it, a Key Stone.

 

“That’s right,” she said to her awestruck opponent. “My dad’s boss got me this Mega Ring and the Mawilite as a gift for me becoming a Gym Leader. This Mega Ring, these two stones that go with it… they’re symbols of what I must be as a Gym Leader - a goal that all who enter this building must aspire to surpass! Now, Olivia, take every ounce of your strength and bring it against every ounce of mine, so that we will see who the only one left standing is!” Helena pressed her index and middle fingers on her right hand against the Key Stone, causing bright light to erupt from it. “Mawile, in the name of Olivine Gym, bring forth all your abilities! Mega Evolve!”

 

Ribbons of light emerged from the Mawilite and arced back to join with those issued by Helena’s Key Stone. After combining, the rays formed a spherical cocoon around Mawile, lasting several seconds until he tore out of it with a vicious cry. Mawile’s transformation made it noticeably taller, with most of his physical traits similar to those of his previous form, with one notable exception - a second set of jaws had sprouted from the top of his head, and both looked much more ragged and bestial than the single set he had before.

 

“So that’s a Mega Mawile! It’s so cool to see in person!” Morgan turned to Mawlly, who was so fascinated by Mega Mawile that she’d dropped the bag of cookies. “You could become like that one day too, Mawlly. We just have to find the stone and how to use it.”

 

In the face of Mawile’s overwhelming display of force, Olivia forced back her panic. “Don’t be afraid, Herdier, we can still do this. Use Crunch!”

 

“Use Crunch yourself, Mawile!”

 

Herdier showed great courage in attempting to directly attack Mawile, but it was all for naught. Mega Mawile’s jaws were just too vast, easily engulfing him long before he could accomplish anything. Mawile didn’t immediately take any further action, but instead simply held Herdier using the jaws that had captured him.

 

“Iron Head!”

 

On Helena’s command, Mawile tossed Herdier up in the air, then flipped forward to smack the Normal-type back down using his other set of jaws, which had taken on a metallic shine. Olivia and her friends could do nothing but watch in horror as it quickly became very clear Herdier was completely outmatched by Mawile’s overwhelming power.

 

“Morgan, don’t take this the wrong way, but…” Matt trailed off for a moment before he could finish his question. “...how is Mawile that strong? Did Mega Evolution really give it that much strength?”

 

“No offense taken,” Morgan replied. “Mega Mawile’s ability, that’s why… Huge Power makes it twice as strong as it would normally be.”

 

“I… I…” Olivia’s thoughts were becoming a mess. Desperate to figure out some way to even touch Mawile, she blurted out, “Just try Crunch again!”

 

“Mawile, finish it off with Brick Break!”

 

Herdier valiantly bared his fangs again, but it was useless. Mawile simply drove his fist down into Herdier’s midsection, forcing one last howl out of him before he fainted and fell still.

 

“Herdier is unable to battle!” Dominic announced. “The winner is Mawile!”

 

For the second time, Olivia lowered her head enough for her bangs to cover her eyes. On the sidelines, Anabel once again covered her own eyes with her sunglasses.

 

“Herdier, you did really well,” Olivia quietly said to her fallen Pokémon after recalling him. The confidence she felt against Klang was gone, replaced by a strong sinking feeling she struggled to manage. By the time she had another Poké Ball in her hand, her entire arm was shaking. “I guess there’s only one thing I can do now. Flaaffy, let’s play!”

 

Olivia didn’t throw the Poké Ball, she merely popped it open in her hand to let Flaaffy back out. The moment the Electric-type re-entered the battle and saw Mawile, she stretched herself and growled aggressively.

 

 _“I guess some things don’t change with evolution,”_ Avril thought, stifling a chuckle.

 

Mawile wasn’t intimidated by Flaaffy’s posturing, despite her best efforts. He simply waved his hand at Flaaffy, challenging her to fight.

 

“We have to weaken it first, Flaaffy, or we’ll never have a chance,” Olivia decided. “Thunder Wave!”

 

“It won’t be that easy,” Helena countered once aware of Olivia’s words. “Mawile, Sandstorm!”

 

Mawile produced twin vortexes of sand from his two sets of giant jaws, obscuring himself within a gusty cloud of grit that covered the entire field. The Thunder Wave harmlessly passed by him, leaving Flaaffy to get buffeted by the sand with nothing to show for it.

 

Olivia rubbed her eyes and squinted to try and see through the sandstorm. “Flaaffy, don’t lose your nerve! Try another Thunder Wave!”

 

Flaaffy hadn’t lost any nerve, but she did badly wish to just attack Mawile, so when Olivia prompted her to keep restraining herself she clenched her teeth in frustration. She did decide to listen in the end, but Mawile had long since disappeared into the sandstorm again.

 

“How can something like that move so fast?” Olivia fumed, struggling to keep her voice down.

 

 _“That Flaaffy probably has Static as its ability. I can’t say I like the risk, but I’ve got to work with what I have.”_ Helena spread her arms wide and called into the sandstorm, “Mawile, use Crunch, but avoid its fleece!”

 

Mawile suddenly emerged from the sandstorm right in front of Flaaffy, startling her long enough for him to clamp down on her with one of his sets of jaws. She bleated in a mixture of pain and anger, making Olivia even more agitated.

 

“Thunderbolt! Now!!” she shouted.

 

Electricity sparked to life in Flaaffy’s wool, but as Mawile had ensnared her on her fleshy midsection, it had no immediate effect. There was enough time for Mawile to take notice of Flaaffy’s imminent offense and safely throw her aside.

 

“Don’t take that, Flaaffy! Try for Thunderbolt again!”

 

Flaaffy landed on her feet and recovered quickly enough to finish charging energy. The blue orb on her tail illuminated her surroundings, and with the additional sight it gave her, she cut through the sand with a powerful electric blast. Mawile’s efforts to remain evasive finally failed, and he was struck by the lightning - yet, for all the force Flaaffy put into it, he had little in the way of reaction.

 

“I’m sure you appreciate what you’re up against now, Mawile!” Helena called into the sandstorm. “Don’t toy around with it! Use Brick Break and keep avoiding its wool!”

 

Olivia hadn’t been paying attention after seeing Flaaffy’s tail light up, so when the Electric-type Pokémon reeled back from Mawile punching her, it snapped her trainer out of the thoughts she was lost in.

 

“Dive right back in and get another Thunderbolt ready, but don’t let it loose yet!”

 

Flaaffy hesitated, looking back at Olivia and tilting her head. Olivia nodded in response, encouraging Flaaffy enough that she listened and ran back into the center of the sandstorm. Seconds later, the light on Flaaffy’s tail illuminated her surroundings again - revealing Mawile trying to sneak up on her from the side.

 

“On your left!” Olivia cried. “Do it now!”

 

Just as Mawile got within arm’s reach, Flaaffy spun around to directly face him. This turn of events startled him, giving Flaaffy enough of an opening to strike him with a fully-formed Thunderbolt. The sandstorm dissipated as the two combatants separated, revealing their status to Olivia and Helena. Mawile’s body had several burn marks on it from the two Thunderbolts he’d been hit with, but despite that, he was still physically composed. Flaaffy, meanwhile, was hunched over and panting.

 

Olivia tightened her fists. _“What is it going to take to stop this thing?!”_

 

“It’s time to finish Flaaffy off for good, I think,” Helena resolved. “Mawile, Crunch!”

 

In her exhaustion, Flaaffy lacked the energy to escape from Mawile again. In an instant Mawile was upon her again, clenching her in his iron jaws. She flailed about in an attempt to escape, but accomplished nothing. On Helena’s prompting he spun around and flung Flaaffy across the battlefield, smashing her into one of the metal walls. For all her spirit, she could take no more, and crumpled to the floor.

 

“Flaaffy is unable to battle!” Dominic announced. “The winner is Mawile!”

 

Off in the stands, all of Olivia’s friends watched in shock as the sullen trainer called back the Pokémon that, until that point, had seemed unstoppable.

 

“That Mareep gave me a hard time, and that was before it even evolved…” Morgan murmured. “I knew Mega Mawile was strong, but this is almost scary…”

 

Mawlly snapped out of her fascination for a brief moment when she heard what Morgan said, and pulled on his arm to get his attention. “Wile!” she scolded him.

 

“I’m not saying you would be scary,” he said to her, petting her head. “I know you better than that.”

 

“See what I mean now?” Avril sullenly mumbled to the others. “The favored child, the first born… already strong and she gets gifts showered on her from that billionaire our father works for. She never needed it, and now that she has that stone she’s terrifying.”

 

Back on the battlefield, Olivia felt her strength rapidly draining. “Thanks, Flaaffy…” she said to the Poké Ball before putting it away. _“I’ve only got one left to stop this Mawile now… if I fail here, I’ll never be able to find out why Dad is doing all of this… I’ll never be able to, I’ll never be able to, I’ll never…”_ Olivia abruptly broke herself out of her own spiraling thoughts and pulled out her last Poké Ball. “I won’t lose! I refuse to! I can’t… I can’t… Dewott, let’s-”

 

Before she could even finish her sentence, Dewott forced himself out of the ball on his own. The instant he landed on the battlefield, he brandished his shell with a look of utter rage on his face.

 

“You go for it, Dewott!” Olivia called to him, misinterpreting his anger for enthusiasm. “If anyone can do it, it’s you!”

 

All that did was stoke Dewott’s anger, while the images of Mareep and Flaaffy that cycled through his mind made him tense up more and more.

 

Seeing Dewott’s emotions and how Olivia appeared genuinely unaware of them, Helena grimaced. “Mawile…” she quietly said, “...I think it’s best if we bring this to a quick end. This can’t go anywhere good. Use Crunch.”

 

Mawile acknowledged his trainer with a nod and started running toward Dewott. He knew just as well as she did that something was wrong, and intended to follow her directions to the letter.

 

“Dewott,” Olivia said, fighting back the tremors that were starting to work their way down her arms, “Razor Shell!”

 

A cloak of water enveloped Dewott’s body as, instead of listening to Olivia immediately, he propelled himself forward using Aqua Jet instead. The distance between him and Mawile closed in an instant, leaving Mawile startled as Dewott danced around him and closed in from the side. Mawile met his assault with one of his sets of jaws, but Dewott was ready for this exact move. He turned his Razor Shell sideways and stuck it into Mawile’s toothy iron jaws, jamming them open and preventing him from attacking with Crunch.

 

With his opponent halted - however briefly - Dewott looked over his shoulder to see if Olivia was watching him. She was, but there were no words of encouragement, leaving him unsatisfied. A sharp growl slipped from his throat as more water flickered to life around his feet, wrapping around both Pokémon.  Using every ounce of his strength to push against Mawile’s weight, Dewott slowly forced him up into the air with Aqua Jet.

 

“That’s it, Dewott! Get Mawile up high and then drop it with Water Gun!”

 

Inside the veil of water, Dewott flashed a smile. It wouldn’t be long before he earned the kind of praise he desired and showed Flaaffy his superiority - it was so close, he could taste it.

 

“Mawile, break free with Iron Head!”

 

Dewott’s hopes came crashing down on him as hard as Mawile’s free set of jaws did. The iron mouth smashed into him from the side, making him squeal and breaking his grip on the shell holding the other set open. Mawile spat the shell out at him as he plummeted to the ground.

 

“Quickly, Mawile, come down on it with Brick Break.”

 

On Helena’s word, Mawile spun himself around in midair and aimed himself downward, pulling back a clenched fist as he descended. Despite a desperate plea from Olivia to dodge, Dewott lacked the strength to pull himself up before Mawile punched him squarely in the torso, forcing another pained cry from the Water-type Pokémon.

 

“Dewott, no!” Olivia cried. “You have to keep-”

 

Before she could finish, Olivia was frozen by a feeling of dizziness. Tunnel vision took hold of her, narrowing her sight to just what was right in front of her - Dewott, Mawile, Monroe and Helena. After Mawile pulled back from the devastating blow he’d landed, Dewott slowly rose up, his body starting to give off a blue aura.

 

Taking note of both the aura and the dead-eyed look on Dewott’s face, Anabel said, “No wonder Torrent is activating… I can feel it in Dewott’s heart, he’s desperately trying to get Olivia’s attention, but with Flaaffy around now he feels threatened. And with an opponent as powerful as Mega Mawile standing in his way, he’s afraid she’ll be disappointed in him.”

 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Matt replied after hearing what Anabel had to say.

 

On the battlefield, all Olivia noticed was the blue aura. “Torrent, just like in Azalea Gym!” she exclaimed. “Dewott, we can get through this using that power!” Thrusting her fist forward in an exaggerated punching motion, she called out, “Go for it! Aqua Jet!”

 

Dewott snarled loudly and dropped to all fours, and a huge wave of water erupted around his body. He shot like a missile toward Mawile, his speed so great that Mawile could barely react before Dewott hit him right back in the same place Brick Break had just landed.

 

“Ah, Mawile!” Helena yelled out as she watched him get pushed back. “Be careful, it looks like this won’t be as straightforward as I thought. See if you can land another Iron Head!”

 

“Aqua Jet’s working, Dewott!” Olivia said to encourage him. “Go for another one!”

 

The two Pokémon rushed each other, but even though Dewott was moving much faster than his opponent, Helena was unshaken. She’d expected Olivia to keep pressing something that seemed like it had worked the first time and was ready for it.

 

“Forget Iron Head, catch it with Crunch instead!”

 

Mawile planted his feet firmly in the ground, immediately stopping his advance. He had just enough time to turn one of his sets of jaws in Dewott’s direction and engulf the Water-type in them. The Torrent-powered Aqua Jet still packed enough of a punch to force Mawile back again, but there was nothing Dewott could do to escape from Mawile’s grip afterward. He was stuck headfirst in Mawile’s iron mouth, and although he flailed violently, it accomplished nothing.

 

“Dewott, you’ve got to do more to get out of there!” Olivia pleaded. “Wait, I know! Use Water Gun to push yourself out!”

 

As soon as Monroe signed Olivia’s words to Helena, she knew what a risky situation she was in. “Mawile, spit it out before it uses Water Gun, then use Iron Head!”

 

Mawile immediately coughed Dewott up, dropping him onto his back just as he started gushing water from his mouth. His powered-up Water Gun broke up in the air, leaving nothing but a harmless rain to come back down. Before he could even sit up Mawile was upon him again, crushing Dewott back into the ground using his metallic mandibles.

 

It took several long seconds for Dewott to rise again, but almost immediately he fell forward and seemingly went still.

 

“No!” Olivia cried. “No, Dewott, you can’t lose! We have to get to Dad and stop him! If we lose here…”

 

While Olivia trailed off, a pall settled over her entourage on the sidelines. Matt and the others looked on in dismay, Anabel biting her lip with a visible grimace. Bunny turned away entirely, resigning herself to a loss by Olivia and Nekou remained stone-faced, staring straight ahead as Olivia's nerves frayed on the field.

 

“I tried to warn you,” Avril muttered, though whether she was directing it at the others sitting with her or at Olivia wasn’t clear.

 

Out on the battlefield, Dewott heard Olivia’s words and began forcing himself up, bringing the attention of all the humans around him onto himself. Images of Flaaffy flashed through his mind - her gleefully stuffing food into her mouth, her unleashing a powerful Thunderbolt on Morgan’s Misdreavus, her being lovingly petted and congratulated by Olivia.

 

That last thought was the one that enraged him the most.

 

A bark turned into a long, screeching howl as Dewott rose to his full height only to immediately drop to all fours. He tried to force even more strength out of his body, but there was nothing more anywhere in him he could draw on. His arms and legs buckled, but he wouldn’t let himself collapse. The anger he felt at Flaaffy and his drive to be Olivia’s favorite wouldn’t allow it.

 

Suddenly, a familiar light burst from Dewott’s body. Having just seen it earlier in the battle, Olivia and all the others knew instantly what it was. Dewott’s shape reflected in Olivia’s watery eyes as it changed, while off to the sides, Anabel lifted her sunglasses in surprise. Nekou said nothing, but when she jumped up to her feet, she hit Matt’s back and nearly knocked him forward.

  
“What’s happening?” Amanda asked the others around her.

 

“Dewott’s evolving, that’s what!” Nekou exclaimed.

 

“Wow, really? How exciting!” Amanda clapped her hands together.

 

Dewott’s short arms and legs grew into strong, sturdy limbs as he became quadrupedal. His height more than doubled, topped off by a spiked seashell that covered the back of his head and formed a sharp horn. White hair sprouted from his snout and under his mouth, quickly lengthening into thick whiskers that resembled a majestic moustache and beard.

 

Stunned by this turn of events and her Pokémon’s new appearance, Olivia could find nothing to say. She merely covered her mouth with her hands and stared.

 

“Now that Dewott evolved into Samurott, you might have a shot!” Morgan shouted to her over the growling of the freshly evolved Water-type.

 

“Samurott, that’s its name?” Olivia whispered. She lowered her hands, brushing past her pocket where her Pokédex was without a notice. “You evolved for me so we could win, Samurott?”

 

Samurott completely ignored Olivia and remained fixated on Mawile, who he now towered over. The stress of forcing himself to evolve after all he’d endured at Mawile’s hands left his entire body burning, and his mind was still stuck on the images of Flaaffy that continued to torment him. He remained still and continued to growl at his opponent.

 

Helena could wait no longer after quietly observing Dewott’s evolution. “This could be trouble, even for my Mega Mawile…” she said to herself before addressing her Pokémon directly. “Mawile, we need to finish this up! Use Brick Break!”

 

If anyone in Olivine Gym wasn’t surprised or intimidated by Dewott’s evolution, it was Mawile. He ran right for Samurott, pulled back his fist and delivered a strong punch to the sea lion’s right front leg.

 

Samurott didn’t react at all, however, and that caused Mawile to step back in confusion. Olivia’s Pokémon didn’t even move. He just stood still and continued to growl until an orange light suddenly burst from his body. When that happened, his growl became a screech and he swept his arm into Mawile, easily knocking the Steel-and-Fairy-type back.

 

“That looked like the move Revenge to me,” Bunny noted.

 

“Look at that, Samurott!” Olivia exclaimed. “We can do this! We can win if you can do that! Now, u-”

 

Samurott ignored Olivia, but this time it wasn’t to stay still. He drew vapor from the air into his body, allowing him to coat himself in water, then lunged forward and tackled Mawile. The water coating Samurott burst off of him when the two Pokémon collided and sprayed over the battlefield.

 

Even that wasn’t enough to sate Samurott’s anger, however. The images of Flaaffy getting Olivia’s praise kept on tormenting him. Unwilling to even risk allowing them to become real, he lashed out yet again at Mawile, stabbing the Gym Leader’s Pokémon with his horn. Despite the force Samurott put into this Megahorn, however, Mawile stood fast in resistance against it.

 

“Mawile, use Brick Break once more!”

 

Seizing on the close proximity he had to Samurott, Mawile swung and punched him squarely in the chest. Samurott wheezed and stumbled back, his strength starting to fail him.

 

“Samurott…” Olivia listlessly said while breathing heavily, “...you’re pushing yourself way too hard… it’s okay, just stop…”

 

The instant he heard Olivia ask him to stop, Samurott’s eyes snapped fully open. To him, his worst fears were coming true. After all, if he couldn’t even beat Mawile, how would he ever get Olivia to favor him as much as he deserved? No, he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. He would defeat Mawile and prove his strength.

 

Energized anew by his anger and jealousy, Samurott forced himself to his full height. The orange light of Revenge erupted from his body, and he used one of his sturdy legs to smash Mawile into the ground. He then pulled one of his shells - having grown into a full-length sword upon his evolution - from its sheath on his leg and raised it into the air before striking Mawile with it.

 

At that point, he couldn’t stop. His body was burning, his mind was being tormented by Flaaffy, and he sensed that the solution for both of those problems lay in the increasingly weakened Mawile sprawled in front of him. He swung his Razor Shell down onto Mawile again and again, roaring incoherently all the while. It wasn’t long before Mawile reverted into his ordinary form and he completely fainted, but Samurott was unable to even realize he’d won. He just kept beating Mawile’s prone body, growing more and more upset the more he did it. Helena couldn’t even recall her fainted Pokémon, as Samurott was blocking her from getting a clear view of him.

 

Olivia watched in helpless horror as Samurott spiraled completely out of control. “This isn’t right, this isn’t right…” she repeated to herself over and over. “Samurott, this isn’t right… I want to win, but not like this…” She abruptly pulled out Samurott’s Poké Ball and pointed it toward him. “Samurott, not like this! No! Come ba-”

 

When Olivia moved to act on her decision to recall Samurott and surrender the battle, however, she was suddenly overcome by an agonizing headache. She dropped the Poké Ball and held her head with both her hands, then doubled over.

 

The pain in her head soon spiked, forcing her body to lock up. She couldn’t see anything around her, nor did she hear Anabel screaming her name as she ran onto the battlefield. In fact, it was like she wasn’t even in Olivine Gym anymore. The memory of where she really was barely held on while her mind was filled with something else entirely.

 

Olivia saw herself on a battlefield, but it wasn’t that of Olivine or any other Gym. It was much more vast than that, surrounded by a massive area of spectator seating broken into three tiers. When she looked around, she saw a giant video screen hanging over the field. It was displaying a red screen with a black stripe down the middle, with a gold Poké Ball outline surrounded by eight stars laid over it - the emblem of the Pokémon League. She was in the Pokémon League stadium at the Indigo Plateau, right at the center of its battlefield.

 

Just as she figured out where she was, she suddenly realized there was a figure in front of her. A single glance at him made her want to start crying, even though she couldn’t. He looked exactly the same as he did when she saw him on television the previous day, wearing the same unusual mask and uniform and holding the same elaborate, helix-topped staff.

 

 _“Father?”_ No matter what she did, she couldn’t force any words out. _“No, Dad! Why are you…”_

 

“It is not time for you to join me yet, Olivia,” Father said to her before turning away and starting to walk off.

 

 _“No, stop! Come back!”_ She tried to reach out to him, but he disappeared without acknowledging her again.

 

In the real world, a single tear rolled down Olivia’s face before she fell completely unconscious and collapsed. Anabel, who had just recalled Samurott herself after collecting his Poké Ball, rushed over to her and held her in her arms.

 

“Olivia!” Anabel shouted, her voice cracking. “Wake up!”

 

“What’s wrong with her?” Morgan asked the others as they came onto the battlefield. “Is she alright? Is she breathing?”

 

“She’s breathing, but barely…” Anabel said without turning around.

 

“It’s getting worse…” Matt muttered, clutching Amanda’s hand tightly as he guided her. He shut his eyes and looked away. “The last time was in Ecruteak City, and that was only a week ago…”

 

“What?” gasped Monroe. “When?”

 

“While you were battling the Shadow Triad, apparently. That’s what Olivia told me anyway…”

 

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as they clustered around Olivia and listened to her labored breaths. All of them had things they wanted to say, but none of them knew how. Even Avril, who was hiding behind her father, wanted to tell Olivia to get up.

 

The only one not in that tight circle was the one who considered herself Olivia’s closest friend. Nekou stood away from the others with her arms crossed, watching with both great concern and great distress.

 

 _“These people helped me after what I became…”_ she thought, _“...and now it’s my turn to pay them back. I can’t… I can’t think only of myself anymore. If this destroys everything I have, I’ll have to endure… there’s only one person who can help Olivia now.”_

 

Gathering her strength, Nekou took a single step forward, making sure to drive her boot into the ground with enough force to make a sound. Her plan worked, getting Matt and Bunny to turn around and look at her.

 

“Nekou?” Bunny wondered.

 

Nekou opened her mouth, only for her words to get caught in her throat. _“No! Fuck this! I have to do this, no matter the cost…”_ To break the ice, she took out her phone and showed it to them. “I… I can help. I know a really good doctor who works in Olivine. She’s the one who always takes care of me, so I know she’ll have exactly what’s needed to treat Olivia right now.”

 

“That’s great!” Matt exclaimed before turning back around. “Anabel, did you hear that?” When Anabel shook her head, he said, “Nekou’s got a doctor in Olivine she can call to take care of Olivia!”

 

“Please do!” Anabel begged Nekou once she heard this. “This can’t keep happening!”

 

Nekou turned away from the others and grit her teeth. “Don’t worry… Olivia will be well taken care of.”

 

-:-

 

Far away from Olivine City, Gabriella was lounging in the pool inside her Angel Tower office. A holographic screen in front of her displayed images of both a Mega Mawile and the Meteonite, along with several pieces of data comparing both.

 

“Exactly what I envisioned,” she said to herself. “Making use of Gaia is the answer.”

 

Pleased with what she was seeing, she took a sip from the champagne glass sitting on the edge of the pool.

 

-:-

 

Roughly fifteen minutes after Nekou stepped out of the Gym to place her phone call, she came barging back into the chamber. The others hadn’t moved much in the intervening time.

 

“They’re here!” she called to them. Her torn emotions had been briefly settled by the urgency of the situation, but still, they quickly caught up to her again. “They’re here…” she repeated, her energy draining.

 

“Come on, then, let’s go,” Matt urged the others. “I’ll carry Olivia. This body of mine can be useful for something… Anabel, would you…?”

 

Understanding what Matt meant, Anabel nodded and took Amanda’s hand. “We’re going now, Amanda.”

 

“Alright.”

 

With nothing more that needed to be said, Matt took up Olivia in his arms and started walking towards Nekou and the exit. The rest of the group started to follow, but Nekou held up her hand and stopped them.

 

“You kids shouldn’t have to see this,” she uttered. “I know you’re worried, but please, Dominic… keep your kids here. Morgan, you too. Please.”

 

“But I want to make sure Olivia is-”

 

Monroe was cut off when his father put a hand on his shoulder. “We all want to make sure Olivia is okay, but we have to trust that the ones who know her best will be able to take care of her.”

 

“Yeah!” Morgan blurted out. “I, uh… just let us know when she wakes up, okay? I can find something to do…”

 

“Don’t worry about it, we will,” Matt promised.

 

“I sincerely hope she recovers soon,” Helena said. “Best wishes.”

 

“Thank you,” Anabel replied.

 

With that, Nekou led Matt, Anabel, Bunny and Amanda back through the lobby of Olivine Gym to the street outside. A fairly large truck was waiting for them outside.

 

Sensing the confused glances being exchanged between those behind her, Nekou said to them, “House calls aren’t a usual order of business, so she doesn’t exactly have an ambulance or anything to use.”

 

Matt and Bunny looked at each other, then back to Nekou and the truck. “I guess that makes sense,” Matt said.

 

Nekou ran ahead of the others and threw open the doors on the back of the truck. After climbing in, she stuck her arm out and gestured to them, saying “Come on, get in!”

 

Losing her composure, Anabel absentmindedly let go of Amanda’s hand and rushed ahead to the truck. Bunny noticed this and quickly took up the slack, while Matt got ahead of them and entered the truck right behind Anabel.

 

What he saw when he got in stopped him cold. Anabel had the same reaction, staring wide-eyed at the occupants of the vehicle.

 

“What… what is this…” Olivia’s mother gasped. “Why are you here…?!”

 

Matt didn’t recognize the wheelchair-bound woman sitting next to a stretcher in the middle of the trailer. He didn’t recognize the redhead Nekou was sitting next to either, but Anabel did, from when the Frontier Society’s opening tournament was attacked - it was Ariana.

 

When the truck’s driver looked back into the trailer, Matt finally saw a face he recognized. It was the master of disguise who had helped him and Bunny against Yung on the Magnet Train. Petrel.

 

“We meet again, my friends!” Petrel exclaimed. “I only wish it was under better circumstances than this, but hey, you’re in good hands with Rosalie’s help!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**END of CHAPTER 22**

  
  



	23. Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma - Best Wishes from the Past (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After learning the truth about Nekou’s connection to Team Rocket, Matt is confronted by Mitsumi, who demands he set up a meeting between her and someone from the organization. When the interview takes place, the story about when Team Rocket and Polaris met for the first time begins to be revealed.

I know a lot of people have probably been waiting for this ever since I announced that it would happen. Well, here we go.

One thing I feel that I should mention is that since this chapter and chapter 24 will heavily use flashbacks, it's probably a good idea to explain how I've been denoting regular scene breaks against flashbacks. Regular scene breaks are shown by "-:-", while flashbacks are "~:~." A scene break inside a flashback is "-:-", "~:~" is only for the beginning and end of flashbacks.

-:-

 **CHAPTER 23:** Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma: Best Wishes From the Past (Part 1)

-:-

The evening sun broke through the clouds, casting a brilliant orange glow over the western Johto sea as gentle waves lapped against Olivine City's docks. The city's southern commercial district was its most built-up area, although as time marched on, a number of the buildings were left to rot as abandoned husks. The remaining stalwarts that stood in the decay reaped the rewards of great business, driven by a mix of tourism and shipping traffic.

One business that ranked among Olivine's most successful was a Thrifty Megamart. Built in the image of the chain's other stores around the world, it stood not far from Olivine Port, its neon signs flickering in the light of the setting sun.

The market's interior was clean and well organized, again matching the standards the chain set. A throng of shoppers wandered through its aisles, each in their own search for their needs for the coming night, all to the sounds of upbeat music filtering through the Megamart's radio system in the background.

Among the shoppers that evening was Matt, quietly heading in and out of the store's various sections with a basket in his hand. He really wasn't looking for much outside of one particular item, and when he found it, he stopped and stared at it on the shelf.

 _"Sonata Coffee, imported from Unova! Special price, 4 for ₽1,000!"_ the sign on the shelf read.

Sonata Coffee, the drink Nekou had specifically requested he find before everything that had happened. As he stared at one bag of the coffee in his hand, Matt found himself remembering those events again, even though they had only just happened.

~:~

"Someone want to explain to me what the _hell_ is going on?" Bunny demanded. She was far from the only one agitated by the situation Nekou led them to in the back of Team Rocket's truck. "You're kidnapping us, aren't you? When Olivia's sick, even?!"

"What's happening?!" Amanda cried, tightening her grip on Matt's arm with her right hand while instinctively reaching for her Poké Balls with her left. "We're being kidnapped?"

"What's happening is that our _so-called_ friend Nekou just marched us right into Team Rocket's hands!" Bunny lashed around to face Nekou, who was sitting next to Ariana with her hands held tight in her lap, staring down at the floor. "I knew it, I just knew it. How long have you been with them?"

"How long have you known?" Nekou kept on avoiding Bunny's burning glare while also evading her question.

"Since that Pierce told us that Giovanni was dead in Ecruteak," came Bunny's sharp, almost hissing reply. "Matt knew it then too."

The mention of Matt made Nekou flinch, though it went by without notice.

"What should we do?" Amanda spoke up, tugging at Matt's arm as she did so. "We can't get kidnapped by Team Rocket!"

Matt had been silently clenching his teeth while Bunny and Nekou argued, but with Amanda's entry into the exchange, he had to answer. "I don't think we're actually being kidnapped…" he uttered as he sat down opposite Nekou and Ariana, taking Amanda with him. "I don't… I think there's more-"

"Are you seriously okay with this?!" Bunny snapped.

"Stop it!" Anabel finally yelled, interrupting the escalating dispute. Having inserted herself into the fray, she seized Nekou by the shoulders and directly confronted her. "You said were calling a really good doctor in Olivine, the one who always takes care of you. You said they'd have exactly what Olivia needed. Did you lie?"

"No, I didn't…" Nekou answered as she hung limply in Anabel's grasp. "I called exactly who I said I would. She's right there."

With that, Nekou gestured to behind Anabel, prompting her to turn around and finally register that Rosalie was there. The wheelchair-bound scientist had paid little attention to the scene around her, instead focusing her efforts on getting Olivia's unconscious form onto the stretcher.

"I don't know why I'm even giving you a chance to introduce yourself," Anabel said to her, "but who are you? Are you really what Nekou claims you are?"

"Just call me Rosalie," she replied. Even as she talked to Anabel, she remained focused on securing Olivia. "If what I just heard you say is what Nekou said to you about me, she told you the truth. Correct me if there are any missing details, but from what Nekou told me when she called, Olivia's been having seizures?"

"I've only witnessed one," Anabel said, "but Matt-"

"As far as I know she's had at least two other ones," Matt finished, cutting Anabel off in a fit of nerves.

"She's breathing well, at least," Rosalie informed them, "but if the problem is seizures, I need to see if there's anything unusual going on in her brain and I don't have the equipment right here on hand to do that. Once we get back, that's where I can do it."

"Back?" Anabel wondered. "Back where?"

"The base we set up in Olivine City," Ariana said to the group.

"This can't be happening," Anabel muttered as she threw herself down next to Matt. "You're joking, right? You're taking us to your base and I'm supposed to believe this is all because Team Rocket is _somehow_ the good guys this time? That this is all about helping Olivia?"

"You might not want to believe this, but I really wouldn't let anyone hurt Olivia." Finally overcoming the fear of her friends' impressions of her, Nekou managed to turn her eyes up to look at them with a hardened defensiveness. "Honestly, if we wanted to do something to Olivia, we would have by now, and we haven't… but that's probably not enough. I don't blame you if you don't believe me… but you deserve to know who actually is going against you. Matt and Bunny never told you who they ran into on the Magnet Train."

"Who we met on the Magnet Train?" Bunny said in surprise. She didn't understand the significance of what Nekou was alluding to, but Matt did. He said nothing and all but stopped breathing, his face turning even paler than it usually was.

"Maman, just… please show Anabel that video."

"Right." Ariana took up a tablet that had been sitting next to her and tapped its screen several times. After a beat, she swiped her finger across it twice, then presented the screen to Anabel. "This happened during the crisis in Goldenrod City, while we were trying to take a Meteonite away from Polaris on the Magnet Train. Look who was there."

The video quality was less than ideal, but there was no mistaking what had appeared on the screen - the image of Dr. Yung confronting Matt, Bunny and the Team Rocket members on the Magnet Train. Anabel gasped the moment she saw him.

_"I was always in Polaris. Enigma Shadow outlived their use for us, so we got rid of them from within. Of course, you and your old friend Rich helped me out."_

" _We wouldn't if we knew what you really were doing!"_

" _Oh yes you would. Maybe you're too much of a bleeding heart to admit it, but I was able to get into Rich's head real good. Does that make you feel bad? Or are you not bothered, judging by how you're working for Team Rocket now?"_

" _Do you really think I'm going to listen to you?"_

" _I don't really care if you do or not. It's not like you're getting out of this. Mewtwo, get rid of them!"_

"Stop making her watch that!" Matt abruptly shouted, pushing the tablet away from Anabel's line of sight.

Even the brief length of the clip she'd seen had Anabel reduced to a state of shock. Just seeing and hearing Yung turned her paler than Matt had seen her since just after Rich's death. For a dumbfounded moment, Anabel stared at where the tablet had been, her eyes wide and sunken back into her head, rocking back and forth with her arms wrapped tightly around her abdomen.

"Why is _he_ here? Why? Why?" she mumbled over and over to herself. "He, he… he's the one, the one who took them from me… Amelia and Ophelia…"

Unaware of what Anabel meant, Bunny directed a questioning glance in Matt's direction. He saw it and covered his mouth so Anabel couldn't see it.

"The twin daughters who died before they were born," he whispered to Bunny, "Olivia's sisters… Yung was the one who poisoned her and caused it…"

Bunny gasped and covered her mouth with both her hands. Anabel, meanwhile, had remained adrift in her catatonic state, completely failing to notice any of the conversation around her.

"Why? Why does he keep coming back? He took Amelia and Ophelia from me, how much more does he want to-"

Anabel's spiraling thoughts were cut off when Ariana unexpectedly moved to her side and embraced her. All Anabel could do was look back, dumbfounded, as the Team Rocket executive smiled faintly but firmly at her."I can't totally say I understand what it must feel like for you to have to face this again, and I know it doesn't mean anything coming from someone like me, but I'm sorry."

"Don't… don't worry about it," Anabel weakly insisted. "I have to keep going… or at least try to. Olivia needs me…"

"And we're telling you the truth about wanting to help," Nekou suddenly interjected. "I couldn't hurt Olivia, not now, not ever… I'll do whatever I have to to prove that to you." Out of the blue, Nekou's speech raced ahead, her thoughts lagging well behind her words. "How about this? Anabel, watch everything we do. Not just me, all of us. Watch everything we do and if you so wish, turn us over to the cops! I don't care!"

"You sure about what you're saying there, little miss?" Petrel asked, looking back from the driver's seat of the truck.

"Honestly, Petrel, it doesn't matter all that much right now," Ariana answered. "Without Giovanni, Team Rocket's pretty much destroyed. Stacia's doing her best but she doesn't have the support and loyalty Giovanni always inspired. He was just good at getting people to follow him."

"You're right about that," Petrel admitted. "Anyway, we should probably be heading on back to the base now."

"Wait," Bunny interrupted. Unsure of how what she was about to say would go over, she clenched her fists and breathed deeply, searching for the confidence within herself to proceed. "I… I don't think I should be here right now."

"Honestly, I can't blame you…" Matt said to her, catching her by surprise. "But, what will Olivia think when she wakes up and sees you're gone?"

"I'm not leaving because of her, tell her that. It's true, anyway. I got a message from Jacob back in Ecruteak City, remember? He wanted me to investigate what the secret of the Coronet Rosary is. I think… I think I'll go off on my own for a while and work on that. There are a couple of leads I want to follow."

"I have to respect that then, from one archeologist to another." Matt extended a hand to Bunny, and after a brief moment, she shook it. "Be safe out there. Polaris might still target you looking for Nekou and I."

"You know me, I'll be fine."

With that, Bunny opened the back door of the truck and carefully climbed out. Before she closed the door, she took one last look back at Matt, Nekou, Anabel and Amanda, searching for something among them that not even she could identify. Once Bunny finally closed the door, it was Amanda who broke the subsequent uncomfortable silence.

"This does feel like it might be a bad idea, if you want my opinion," she said. "How long have Team Rocket been the bad guys again?"

"This whole mess involves you and your brother far, far more than you know, Amanda," Ariana revealed to her. "There's something else that neither of you know about. Matt, you'll be the only one who can see this, but…" she swiped her finger over the tablet's screen a few more times, "...I think hearing this one is going to be enough."

The image Ariana presented Matt with was an unfamiliar one, at least visually. He could see a woman dressed in a fur coat, her face hidden by the the red, white, and blue of a Braviary mask. Behind her stood four figures in matching outfits, while an Electivire held firm in front of her.

 _"You be quiet!"_ an unfamiliar male voice from just off screen threatened her. _"We don't know what Polaris is planning, but I'll tell you that Team Rocket will prevent you from doing it so we can rule the world!"_

Neither Matt nor Amanda was prepared for what came next. As soon as the woman on the screen spoke, both of them understood immediately what Ariana had been alluding to.

_"If that's what you believe in, defeat me."_

"That voice!" Matt gasped in horrified surprise. "Is that…"

"That's our mother, no doubt about it!" Amanda said to finish his thought. "What is she doing?"

Matt focused back on the screen, searching for an answer to Amanda's question. By that point a Cofagrigus and Swoobat had appeared between Mercury's Electivire and the people off screen. The Swoobat was flying toward Electivire, ringed by blue flames produced by Cofagrigus.

_"I'll give you credit for having the courage to attack head-on. Foolhardy, but courageous. Electivire, take all that out with Electroweb!"_

"That's her alright," Matt confirmed as he watched Electivire cut Swoobat down using electrically charged threads. "No doubt about it."

"What is this exactly?" Amanda demanded of Ariana and Nekou.

"This happened right after you passed by Mr. Pokémon's house en route to Violet City," Ariana explained. "Our agents wanted to take that Meteonite piece that he acquired, but they were ambushed by a Polaris team looking to collect it from him. One of the Shadow Triad was there, but the one actually sent for Mr. Pokémon to hand it off to was your mother… one of Polaris' leaders, like Yung."

Ariana stood back up and surveyed her three-member audience. They all looked utterly haunted by what they had learned, and none of them spoke as they tried to completely understand it.

"I don't totally understand why yet," she continued, "but both of your families are at the center of this. Yung was always a member of Polaris, which means they've been pulling the strings from the very beginning of everything you're involved in. The only question that remains is just how much further back have they been at this?"

~:~

 _"She's a member of Polaris…_ Matt thought to himself, clenching his teeth as he moved down the aisles toward the Thrifty Megamart's checkout lines. _"But for how long? Was she one of them before Amanda and I were even born? But that would mean… Team Galactic…"_

Those thoughts quickly got to Matt, causing him such stress that he stopped walking to compose himself. He glanced at the shelves around him, where he spotted a Mimikyu doll.

_"That looks sort of like Pikachu, but not the same. Kind of looks like something Nekou would like."_

He reached towards the doll, and while he did so, more memories of what had happened after leaving Olivine Gym came to his mind.

~:~

"Nekou, you can't be thinking straight! Just… think about the risk of exposure you're putting us through right now!"

It had been a direct drive from Olivine Gym to the abandoned hotel that Team Rocket turned into their base, and after Bunny left, it didn't take that long for the others to arrive there. Ariana brought them right up to the floor with Trevor's bar, where Anabel promptly split off to follow Rosalie into another room with Olivia. That left Matt and Amanda to meet the rest of Team Rocket, and Ada was less than thrilled with their presence.

"I get paid to be an analyst here," Ada continued, nervously adjusting her laptop in her arms, "and I'm telling you on both a professional and private level, this is a terrible idea."

"I didn't have much of a choice," Nekou countered. As close as she was with Ada, the tension in the room left her unable to look directly at her teammate. All she could do was mutter bitterly while peeking at Ada from the corner of her eye. "I know you agree that Rosalie is the most qualified to treat Olivia right now."

"That's not untrue, but…" Ada's objections died off in her throat, halted by a barrier erected by her own conflict over the situation. _"Nekou usually knows what she's doing, so I trust her, but…"_

"I don't think any of us has any intention to do anything to you," Matt ventured, "at least right now. It's more important that Olivia get help, and I'll hold you to that."

"But right now, you owe us a lot of explanations," Amanda added.

"I'm not going to lie and tell you otherwise," Ariana said, "but right this moment, there's little else I can do besides introduce everyone else. We're most of the only ones in Team Rocket left. You already met Rosalie and Petrel, and obviously Nekou…"

"Wait, I know him too." Matt pointed at Proton, who was sitting on the other side of the room and keeping to himself. "We ran into him in Ilex Forest, I remember."

"Oh, that's right. I nearly forgot." Ariana shrugged. "And back on the Magnet Train, Ada was there to help you, too."

"You were the one with the Milotic who helped us beat back Yung and his Mirage Mewtwo," Matt recalled. Ada allowed herself a slight smile at his compliment, but her nerves ensured that she remained quiet. "Pierce was there too, and in Ecruteak City." As he spoke, Matt remembered something and brought his hand to his chin. "There was one other person when we were fighting Yung. I didn't get a good look at him, but I could have sworn he was-"

"That's right, it was me," came a voice from behind Matt and Amanda. They turned around, and Matt saw Trevor standing behind the bar, calmly polishing a glass. "I knew you recognized me, but we didn't exactly get a lot of time to talk back then."

"I thought I did. But what are you even doing here in the first place? What made you give up your career for this?"

"That's a story for another time, really," Trevor wistfully said, closing his eyes.

"Heh. How did I know you were going to say that?" Matt replied with a laugh.

While Matt and Trevor conversed, Ariana turned to Ada as she stared down at the floor. Ariana put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I know this is a tough thing for you to deal with, but I promise you it's the right choice. You alright?"

"I… I believe you." Ada replied, keeping her eyes locked squarely on the floor tile directly in front of her. "I'll be fine."

"Good. Can you give me an update on what those three are up to?"

"Oh, of course." Balancing her laptop in her arm, Ada quickly tapped a sequence of keys. She exhaled, finding relief in being able to focus her attention on something else. "Jessie, James and Meowth are still off in the sub working on mapping the Adenosine Base. That job is going to take them more time than this."

"Got it. Let me know if anything develops from them."

~:~

With his purchases paid for and stuffed into his bag, Matt shuffled toward the Thrifty Megamart's exit, past rows of shopping carts and shelves overflowing with numerous types of Berries. The sun was lower in the sky than when he entered, casting the last beams of daylight over the seaside city.

Usually, he would have noticed such a beautiful image, if for no other reason than to memorize it and paint it for Amanda. But at that moment, he was so lost in his own thoughts that he wouldn't have noticed even if the sun had simply disappeared.

 _"She was a member of Team Rocket from the very start…"_ he silently mused, _"...but it's also true that none of them did anything to hurt Olivia, or any of us… and they've been helping us against Polaris every time it comes to that. I should be angry at her for not saying anything, yet… I can't condemn her for it, either. I'd be a total hypocrite. If it's something she needs to survive…"_

Matt carried on in a daze, so wrapped up in his musings that he nearly collided with the Thrifty Megamart's exit doors, stopping just short of walking right into them before they could open. He caught himself, leaving the panes of glass to slide out of his way and allow him to step out into Olivine's salty air.

Almost immediately, his contemplation was interrupted by a bitter voice from his right. "Matt Chiaki, I need to talk to you."

He froze in his tracks and turned his head quickly discovering that Mitsumi had been leaning against the market's brick wall in wait for him. She threw the cigarette she had been smoking to her feet and ground it out with her heel, then stomped forward with a harsh glare.

"I hope you heard me. I need to talk to you, right now."

"About what?" Matt said back to her. "Who are you?"

Mitsumi briefly stepped back, her face contorted into a look of genuine hurt. Before Matt knew it, though, her anger at him returned. She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pushed him against the wall with surprising force.

"Of course you don't remember me. Why am I even surprised? But I know you know what this is." Mitsumi reached into her pocket and produced her International Police badge, but didn't allow Matt the chance to recognize it. "I'm Agent Mitsumi of the International Police, and I've been waiting a long time for this."

"I don't get what you're talking about!" Matt sputtered. "What did I do?"

Suddenly, the doors of the Thrifty Megamart opened again, this time allowing Silva to step out. He was eating something, but nearly choked when he saw his partner and Matt. "Mitsumi, we were just supposed to talk to him!"

Mitsumi paused for a moment to consider Silva's words, then released her grip on Matt. "I'm not going to apologize for that, but fine. Allow me to introduce my partner, Agent Silva…" Finally noticing what Silva had been doing, Mitsumi raised a brow at him. "Were you eating Poké Snacks again?"

"Aha, you're funny when you want to be," Silva laughed, completely avoiding the question. Mitsumi grimaced in disgust at his non-answer, before the agent cleared his throat, eager to shift the topic of conversation.

"Let's just work on the case…"

"Fine. Matt, I'll level with you right now. We know you've been staying close to a member of Team Rocket. Don't lie about it, we know this for a fact. I want you to set up a meeting between us and a representative from Team Rocket. We have questions about their motives and relationship to Polaris."

"How do you expect me to do that, exactly?" Matt asked.

"I don't care. Just find a way to make it happen or I arrest you, Nekou, and every other Team Rocket member I can find as soon as possible," she threatened. "If I had my way I'd be taking the lot of you in right now, but our superior wants us to find out about anything that might put Team Rocket back on our side again in this."

"Your superior?"

"We're subordinates of Looker," Silva explained to answer Matt's question. "He contacted us and told us a rather interesting story. And yes, he did tell us that Team Rocket might be on our side in all this and said to confirm that."

"Fine, fine…" Matt slightly raised his hands to show his surrender, but realized it wasn't necessary and quickly stopped. "I'll do my best."

"You are to bring the representative to this location by the specified time," Mitsumi said, pushing a card into his hands. "The arrangements will be taken care of."

Mitsumi left no chance for Matt to respond. She turned and walked off, with Silva following after quickly glancing at him. Left alone, Matt looked at the card he had been handed.

"Sushi High Roller, huh? I guess at least the food will be enjoyable."

-:-

When Matt found himself at the center of an argument for the third time in the past few hours, and the second just involving Ada, a belated realization due since immediately after talking to Mitsumi finally caught up with him.

_"How did I ever think trying to get them to talk to the police was a good idea?!"_

"I'm putting my foot down here!" Ada fumed to Nekou as they both sat at Trevor's bar, Matt standing helplessly behind them. "What am I even here for if I'm not analyzing risk? I told you bringing them here was a bad decision, and then he comes back and tells us he talked to the police? What did you _think_ was going to happen? The police will just follow him here!"

Nekou didn't reply to Ada's question. She simply raised her glass to her lips and drank from it, allowing an ice cube to fall out into her mouth so she could crunch on it. Her peer's uncharacteristic unresponsiveness only made Ada even more upset, leading her to slam her own glass down on the bar.

"What's with you? This isn't like you at all!" Ada abruptly spun her barstool around, turning her accusing glare on Matt. "You did something to her, didn't you?"

"What?" Matt gasped. "Why would you even say such a thing?"

"Because _this_ isn't the Nekou I know!" Ada angrily said, gesturing to the still-sulking Nekou. "The only thing that could have changed her is being around you!"

"Now, now, Ada, go easy on him," Trevor intervened.

"You too?!" Ada demanded as she spun back around. "Is everyone here losing their minds? You actually still think we can trust him?"

"He didn't bring the police directly here after all, did he? Don't you think they'd be here by now?"

In an instant, Trevor had cut right to the bone of Ada's argument. She hadn't thought about the possibility he raised, but as soon as she heard it, she realized he had a point.

"I still don't trust him," she said, "I think it's a setup."

Matt was, again, lost in thought as he watched Trevor and Ada converse. He was searching his memory for something, anything that he could use to try to convince Ada of his intentions. As he pondered what had happened, Mitsumi's words echoed in his mind.

_"If I had my way I'd be taking the lot of you in right now, but our superior wants us to find out about anything that might put Team Rocket back on our side again in this."_

"I don't blame you," he said to Ada, "I don't understand everything about what's going on either. The agent who told me to set up this meeting said that if it were up to here she would have already arrested everyone here, and that their superior wanted to find out anything that would 'put Team Rocket back on our side again in this.' Why would they talk about Looker like he worked with you before?"

This got Trevor's attention. "Looker?"

"You know him?" Matt knew he shouldn't be as surprised as he was. "I guess that makes sense…"

"We had a bit of a bargain between ourselves and him in Sinnoh and Unova," Trevor explained. "When it came to fighting Team Galactic and Team Plasma, we were all on the same side."

"So if Looker is really the one who wants to talk…" Ada said into her glass, "...then maybe…"

Ada tightened her grip on her glass and trailed off. The whole situation still felt strange to her, but she couldn't ignore the truth about their past alliances with Looker, either. Seeing this, Trevor picked up a glass he'd poured for himself and swallowed it all at once, then stepped out from behind the bar.

"Don't worry about it, Ada," he said. "I'll go. If they want to know about why we're fighting Polaris in the first place, I've been there from the beginning."

"What are you talking about?"

The question was Anabel's. She'd just entered the room, with Amanda and Rosalie at her side. It was plainly obvious how tired she was, from the slight bags beginning to form under her eyes to the short, slow steps she was taking.

"It's more important how Olivia is," Nekou replied. "How is she doing?"

"She's still asleep, but she's stabilized," Rosalie said. "I need to do some further tests and monitor her brain activity to see if I can figure out exactly what's happening when she has the seizures. But don't worry, she's resting comfortably right now."

This news brightened Nekou's mood a little, prompting her to return to her drink with a modest smile instead of the blank expression she had before.

"Anyway, since you asked…" Matt reached into his pocket and produced the card Mitsumi had given him. "Trevor and I are going to talk to Looker's subordinates at the Sushi High Roller here in Olivine City. They want to know about the reasons Team Rocket and Polaris are fighting in the first place."

"Anabel, you should go with them," Nekou blurted out. "You deserve a break. Go with them and have a nice meal."

"I appreciate the thought, but I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving Olivia alone."

"Wait, I know!" Amanda reached out to her side, finding Anabel's shoulder. "Anabel, you let me protect Olivia. You know how strong I am better than almost anyone. If my Pokémon and I stand guard, nothing will ever happen to her. Go enjoy yourself for a little while."

"I know I can count on you, Amanda." Anabel adjusted her tie and smoothed a few wrinkles out of her jacket. "Just promise me one thing. If her condition changes, call me right away."

"Of course."

-:-

Out over the ocean, there would be many types of Pokémon you could expect to see in the skies above. Wingull and Pelipper would probably be one's most immediate expectations, but there would be a good chance of seeing Pokémon like those in the Pidgey and Ducklett families crossing as well.

One Pokémon few, if any, would expect to see would be Woobat. Yet, as unusual as it was, four Woobat were flying over the ocean making up Routes 40 and 41, flitting around the Adenosine Base. Or so they were to the naked human eye, A closer glimpse revealed them to be mechanical in nature, highly sophisticated drones equipped with radar functionality. They were transmitting to a submarine deep below the surface of the sea. Within it, Jessie, James and Meowth sat at matching control panels before a set of flickering monitors. The screens displayed a number of maps and other information, chief among them a partial diagram of the oil platform the robotic Woobat were circling.

"Ada wants a status update on the mapping," James said to his partners.

"Tell her we just gave her one," Jessie replied.

"You know how she'll react to that. She'll just tell Ariana, and then Ariana will get on our case…"

"Or they'll get the bob-cut glasses girl after us," the red-haired agent realized. She sighed in defeat. "Withdrawn. Tell her the scan's at…" Jessie looked over the screens and hit several of the keys on her panel. "...looks like about 72% completion."

"72%, got it," James confirmed. He typed a series of figures into his own panel, then said, "Transmitting now."

"Won't be long now before we're running down those halls trashing the place!" Meowth declared. "We gotta get revenge on Polar-"

Meowth's excitement got cut off when Jessie's Goomy slithered over the top of his chair and began chewing on his head. He flailed in a fruitless attempt to pull the Dragon-type off, and when he fell off the chair, Wobbuffet rushed over to try helping him.

"Get off me, you little slug! Jess, James, do something and help me!"

"Wobbuffet!" the blue Psychic-type Pokémon exclaimed.

-:-

The sun soon slipped beneath the horizon, bringing the darkness of night to Olivine and the rest of Johto. As the moon started to peek out from behind the clouds, the mood of the city changed. The last of those leaving their workplaces for the day filtered off the streets, soon to be replaced by people seeking the pleasures of Olivine's nightlife.

Not far from the harbor, among all the other restaurants and bars, stood a stately brown building. Its outer appearance was fairly nondescript, aside from the bamboo stalks and paper lanterns outside its windows. This was Sushi High Roller, one of the most popular high-class restaurants in the city.

Matt, Anabel and Trevor passed through its heavy doors and found themselves at a gold-lined front desk. They were greeted by a hostess wearing a cerulean furisode.

"Welcome to Sushi High Roller," the hostess said to the three, gently bowing her head and smiling. "How may I help you?"

"We have a reservation," Matt replied, producing the card he'd been given by Mitsumi. "Well, actually, we're meeting someone here, they made the reservation."

The hostess took the card from Matt and scanned it using the computer at her desk. "I see. Yes. Please follow me this way."

The young woman stepped out from behind the desk and gestured for Matt, Anabel and Trevor to follow her. It was a busy night for the establishment, but few of the other diners took notice of the rather odd-looking trio. They passed by numerous tables on their way to a short staircase, which was cordoned off until the hostess released the rope blocking the way.

"Your table is this way," she explained. "The others in your party haven't arrived yet. I will send them when they get here. Please enjoy your time at our restaurant."

Matt and the others voiced their thanks to the hostess, and ascended the stairs while she returned to her post at the front of the restaurant. At the top was a single table, raised up to overlook the others. A number of elaborate paintings hung on the walls nearby, while a line of bamboo stalks filled the space on the edge of the platform.

"Those paintings are great…" Matt said, attempting to break the awkward silence between them after they sat down. "I'll have to bring Amanda here once she can see again."

"You really watch out for her, eh?" Trevor leaned back in his chair. "As a sibling should. That I'll tell you for sure…"

"I wish I knew that feeling…" Anabel uttered, her voice hollow. The sickly pallor of her face was plain in the light of the lamps around the table. "I was an only child. I wasn't really lonely… I had plenty of friends, especially once I discovered I was able to talk to the living things around me. But at the same time, I wished I could have the bond I could only get from other family members."

Matt and Trevor exchanged worried glances at each other while Anabel talked. For her part, she didn't notice either of them, nor did she stop to get a sense of what her audience thought. Just that one thing Trevor said about siblings had broken down a barrier in her mind, and she couldn't help letting everything out.

"But then," she continued, "I was happy for a long time to just lose myself in books and then my job at the Battle Tower. I forgot about that wish I had for a bigger family for a long time, but when I met Rich, it came back. Everything was going to go so great, until…" Anabel's words were becoming more and more strained as she spoke. Matt could see that her hand was on the table trembling. "Yung took Amelia and Ophelia from me before they were even born, and his poison damaged my system so badly that I could never try again. I wanted to have a big family and I didn't want Olivia to feel that certain loneliness I did, but now I can't even give her that…"

Stunned by Anabel's sudden baring of her soul, Matt was frozen in his chair, unable to react. Trevor, on the other hand, was moved by it.

"You listen to me right now," Trevor said, holding on to her hand to reassure her. "You haven't got a single reason in the world to trust me yet, but listen to what I say. I've been watching Polaris rip up families like yours for decades. If my word has any value to you, I promise that we're going to put a stop to it."

Anabel seized up. All she could do in that moment was stare down at her hand in Trevor's, her eyes wide.

"I can't ask for your help," she said after a pause, pulling her hand back. "It lacks meaning if I don't do it. I have to see to it myself that Yung is stopped after everything he's taken away from me."

"It's understandable you'd feel that way, my friend." Trevor folded his hands on the table in front of himself. "You must also understand, though, that Yung is Polaris and Polaris is Yung. You can't separate one from the other, and that's why we need to be together in this. Beating him and beating Polaris… we do those and we both get what we want."

"Wait," Matt spoke up, "I heard you say you've been watching Polaris for decades. What does that mean, exactly? Does that have something to do with why you just abandoned your career?"

"That's the story I came here to tell," answered the actor.

"Then you best get ready to tell it."

Matt, Anabel and Trevor had been so caught up in talking among themselves that they hadn't noticed Mitsumi's arrival. Behind her stood Silva, and next to him was Zinzolin. Even though Ghetsis' former henchman had gotten rid of his heavy coat in favor of ordinary street clothes, Matt recognized him immediately.

"Why is _he_ here?" Matt complained, pressing his fist into the table.

"I should ask you the same question," Mitsumi bitterly countered as she and her companions sat down. "I told you to bring someone from Team Rocket, so you bring the Commissioner too? Why drag her into it? For support after what you did?!"

"Mitsumi!" Silva scolded her. "I know being here is hard for you, but don't take it out on Anabel!"

"I'm here because I chose to be," Anabel explained in a low voice. "I want to know what exactly is driving Polaris and…" she briefly peered at Trevor, "I have to know who's on my side, because I will protect the family I have left… at any cost."

Mitsumi's expression softened. "I… that's not what I expected to hear. Please forgive me. I'm sorry for lashing out like that."

Anabel nodded and flashed a small smile at Mitsumi. Noticing the pair sharing their moment, Matt meekly asked, "Can you tell me what I did?"

"You really don't remember me, I guess…" In an instant, Mitsumi's mood turned dark again. She scowled and reached into her coat, saying, "You don't remember me, but I _know_ you remember _this_."

The International Police agent placed an object just smaller than her hand onto the table, then withdrew to allow Matt to see it. As soon as he did, he gasped and put his hand over his mouth.

It was a patch bearing the insignia of a sleek, golden letter 'G.'

"I'd… I'd know that anywhere, I haven't forgotten that," he uttered in horror while Anabel and Trevor looked on. "Team Galactic… just who are you exactly?"

"One of the two survivors of Team Galactic's top secret Project Cortex…"

Hearing those words made Matt inhale so deeply that the sound would have disturbed the other tables, if they weren't sitting in an area by themselves.

"What's she talking about?" Anabel asked him. She could see his arm trembling from the signals it was receiving.

"I… I don't remember all the details… honestly, I don't think I ever knew everything. All I know is that it was a secret project Cyrus, Team Galactic's boss, had my father working on. I realized I had to get out from there when I found out they were planning to use…"

"That's right, you saved your sister from their experiments!" Mitsumi angrily interrupted. "You left the rest of us behind. Cyrus wanted to remove all elements of the human spirit so he could create a world ruled by cold logic. One of his early plans was to have your father experimenting on the brains of orphans he collected…" Silva held Mitsumi's hand in an attempt to reassure her, but she pulled it away from him. "All of the test subjects died except for two of us. I was CR-004, and the only other survivor was CR-002. But I ended up being Cyrus' so-called favorite. He thought he saw something special in the way I thought differently than the rest… something he identified with. Being his favorite meant I got special treatment, and by that, I mean torture. He was determined to stamp out any form of emotion I still had… and even after all of that, when your mother left them, she took 002 with her to Polaris, not me… I was trapped in his clutches for years thanks to the two of you! And now I sit here, looking at you… it's well known what you had done to yourself to turn yourself into a machine… to think Cyrus tortured me for years hoping to remove parts of me, and you just up and have a part of your brain replaced with computers…"

"I… I don't…" By that point, Matt's entire body was shaking. "I'm sorry for everything. There's nothing I can say…"

"I didn't expect you'd have anything to say," Mitsumi bitterly said. "There's only one reason I'm here now, to get the truth about Polaris and Team Rocket. That's why _he's_ here."

"I'll tell you right now, there's a limit to my knowledge," Zinzolin warned. "I only directly served Ghetsis, so what I don't know that much about everything going on above him."

"Well, the deal we gave you was protection in exchange for everything you do know," Silva reminded him, "so don't get any ideas about putting anything over on us."

"Oh, I'm not going to withhold anything from you. But let me tell you this right now…" Zinzolin leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Everyone sitting at this table now, all of you should be afraid of Polaris. Deathly afraid. There's nine more leaders at least equal to Ghetsis in rank, some of whom are much more frightening than him."

"That's horrifying to just think about…" Matt muttered.

"Gotta agree there," concurred Trevor.

"But there's more than that," Zinzolin continued. "There are a lot of times when they know things that they shouldn't logically be able to know. Things that happened to people in the past that none of them were there to witness, events that haven't happened yet that they somehow anticipate with perfect precision… they somehow know. There were rumors going around the base while I was there. They say the leaders of Polaris have an oracle, someone who tells them everything that has and will happen."

"Wait, what did you just say?" Matt snapped out of his earlier stupor, slammed his hands down onto the table and jumped to his feet with such force that he nearly knocked his chair over. "Did you just say they have an oracle? Is that _specifically_ the word they used?"

Zinzolin cocked his head at Matt, but eventually nodded, prompting Matt to sit back down and bury his face in his hands.

"What are you thinking?" Anabel asked Matt.

Matt pushed his hands back, first over his forehead and then through his hair with an audible sigh. "Remember what Nekou and I told you the other day?" he asked. "How Polaris could have brought Rich back and may be blackmailing him into acting as Father?"

"You said that if they had a Tenganist with the appropriate Transcendence, they could have pulled Rich's consciousness out of Gaia and given him a physical body again. I remember…"

"Who ever said he was the only one?"

A suffocating silence settled over the table. The implications of Matt's suggestion were immediately obvious to Anabel, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Trevor and Zinzolin remained stone-faced, and it fell to Mitsumi to break the silence.

"What exactly are you saying?" she demanded.

"If they have someone who's explicitly being called an oracle," Matt explained, "and they were able to resurrect someone as they probably did with Rich… I should have known there was more to this story. More to why I'm a target for some reason… they resurrected Saeko Oryo too. She's still alive. They resurrected her and are holding her hostage to stack the deck using her Transcendence, which was literally called 'The Oracle.'"

"Saeko Oryo…" Silva repeated. "Looker told us about that name.."

"That's right, he did," Mitsumi said. She stopped to consider her next words carefully. Looker had told them virtually everything he heard, about Saeko, Dark Matter and the Tenganists. What she had no way of knowing was how much of it Matt knew. For all she was aware of, the information she, Silva and Looker held was vital evidence that could be compromised if she disclosed it. "If Polaris truly does have control of someone with such power…" she finally said, downplaying the thread she could have followed. "You tell me the truth about how Team Rocket and Team Plasma came into conflict with each other, and do it _now_. If Polaris is to be stopped we must understand exactly how this happened from the beginning."

"Alright, I'll get this started then. Just be warned, it's gonna be a real long yarn of a tale." Trevor again leaned back, this time crossing his legs before he continued speaking. "I bet this is gonna surprise you, right off. Did you know it actually goes back over twenty years?"

"No," Mitsumi said in surprise, "I didn't. I must say, though, that it's hard to believe."

"It's true," Zinzolin interjected. "I've been involved for that long too."

Neither Mitsumi nor Silva said anything, choosing to turn their attention back to Trevor. Seeing this, he continued to tell his story.

"You see, even after I had my breakthrough role in _Full Metal Cop_ , I worked another job. You have to keep a steady flow of cash coming in to pay the bills, you know? Anyway, between roles I was working as a bartender in Virbank City. My two coworkers… they were Anthea and Concordia, the two Tenganist women Ghetsis had held hostage. The ones we saved in Ecruteak City."

"Is that really true?" This time it was Silva's turn to direct a surprised question at Zinzolin. Ghetsis' treacherous advisor answered it with a swift nod.

"We became very close friends, Anthea, Concordia and I. Things were good for a while, until… well, I'm never going to forget that day. The day I first lay eyes on Ghetsis Harmonia."

~:~

Virbank City, situated right up on the ocean, was the largest of the cities in southwest Unova. Its aging infrastructure and heavy focus on industry gave it a grimy feel, but underneath that grungy veneer was a sense of community as solid as the bricks that composed its buildings. In spite of its ungainly appearance, the people who lived and worked there loved the city, which reflected in the homely air the industrial town managed to accumulate about itself.

A heavy rainstorm had settled in over Virbank City that day, and Trevor gazed out at it from behind his bar as he pensively wiped a glass. Anthea and Concordia sat side-by-side opposite him, holding their faces up while leaning on the bar.

"Hasn't even started letting up…" Trevor said to them. "No wonder it's been such a slow day. If it was up to me, I might just call it here."

"It's not like it would make a difference," Anthea said back. "I could probably count on my fingers how many customers we've had today."

"Your fingers?" Concordia teased. "More like on one hand."

"It's slow enough that I'm ready to begin throwing a few back myself," Trevor decided, setting the glass down in front of himself. "You ladies want anything?"

Before either Anthea or Concordia could answer, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the bar's front door opening. The man entering the bar was impressively tall, his head mere inches from the top of the doorway. He closed the umbrella he had been carrying and put it in the stand next to the door, then turned to the three employees of the bar, putting his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket as he did so. Each part of his appearance clashed with the others, from his slicked-back green hair to the jacket to the white suit he was wearing underneath.

"Good evening," he said to them, smiling. "It would appear I have the place to myself."

"You earned it for coming out in this storm, I'll tell you that," Trevor replied. "C'mon over. It's not like there's a rush."

Even before Trevor finished giving his invitation, the man had started to approach the bar. Anthea and Concordia both stood up, expecting to have to busy themselves serving him, but when he sat down, he shot a sly smile their way.

"No, stay. I'd rather enjoy your company." Trevor didn't understand what exactly the man meant by this, but the way it was said and the smirk the man gave as he said it sent a chill down Trevor's spine. The man himself called no further attention to it and instead said to Trevor, "Fix me a Red-Striped Basculin, please."

"Right away."

Trevor wasted no time in starting on his task, hoping to push the strange sense of menace his customer exuded from his mind. Focusing his attention on the ingredients he needed to use soothed him, as it always did. Even when working on movies he kept what he needed to mix drinks with him in his dressing rooms. It was always a welcome relief from a tough day of filming.

Behind him, the man was quietly and carefully taking in his surroundings. "This is quite the nice place you've kept," he finally said. "I'll have to remember to come here again."

"If you're gonna be around here regularly I might as well ask you your name." If he had to admit it, Trevor already wished the man would just leave and never return, but he knew it probably wouldn't happen.

"My name is Ghetsis," the man answered. "I decided to come to Virbank City because I'm planning to make a movie."

"Really?" The mention of making a movie drew Concordia into engaging with Ghetsis. "All three of us are trying to make it as actors, too…"

"You say you want to make it as actors, but your friend here has already done that," Ghetsis pointed out, making Trevor's face turn red. "Don't worry, I understand the reality of the business means work can be sparse sometimes."

"So why not tell us about this movie you're working on, then?" Anthea asked.

"I'd be happy to." Ghetsis reached into his coat as if he was going to take something out, but when he withdrew his hand, it was empty. "I envision making a historical epic, the likes of which will change the world. I've been studying Unova's mythology at some of our top universities, and the story I want to tell is one about the Hero of Ideals taking his place as the king of Unova alongside the legendary Pokémon Zekrom. I want to chronicle their rise to the throne and all of the battles they must fight to reach their rightful place. Can you envision what I'm talking about?"

"I think I can, actually," Anthea said, raising a finger next to her face as she thought.

"Didn't the two princes end up realizing the mistake of their conflict and lay down their arms, with neither of them taking the throne?" Concordia wondered.

"That's the way it happened 2,500 years ago, perhaps," Ghetsis mused aloud, "but that's not the story I want to tell. The king who rules over the people must be driven by an ideal that defines every aspect of his life. The alternative is to have a king who is driven by the truth, and look at the way this world is. The truth is that the world as it is is doomed to face endless war!" Ghetsis grew increasingly animated as the volume of his voice escalated, climaxing with him clenching his gloved hands and pounding them into the bar. "A king who is driven by the truth of the world will do nothing but maintain the status quo. Therefore, it is only right that the king _should_ be someone who will tirelessly fight for an ideal world."

"You sure have a vivid picture of your screenplay in mind, don't you?" Trevor's teasing masked his own unease with the stranger. As he finished preparing the drink and placed it in front of Ghetsis, he looked the aspiring filmmaker over, searching for any sign of his true motives. Much to Trevor's frustration, Ghetsis remained a complete enigma. "Anyway, here's that drink you wanted."

"Thank you." Ghetsis reached into his coat again, this time producing a handful of bills that he placed down in front of himself. "I apologize for getting emotional. This is a subject I feel strongly about. It's why I dream of making such a movie."

"Please forgive me if I'm being too forward, but…" To solidify her determination, Concordia brought her fist up against her chest. "...are you looking for people to act in it?"

Ghetsis didn't give any sort of answer at first, and his lack of reaction made Concordia fear she'd ruined any opportunity his project might have held for her. He deliberately allowed many long seconds to pass before directing a wry grin at her. "Now, now, you're rather enthusiastic, aren't you? Don't worry. To tell you the truth, I might have the ideal roles for the two of you."

"Really?" both Anthea and Concordia said together.

"Yes. You see, in this story as it was in the past, the king has a pair of trusted advisors who are closer to him than anyone else in his cabinet. They're known by the epithets of "Goddess of Peace" and "Goddess of Love." I think you two may be the ones who can play those roles."

~:~

"That day was when our nightmare began," Trevor concluded. Aside from Zinzolin, his audience was clearly fascinated by the tale he was telling. "I should have done something, I really should have… from the moment I met Ghetsis I never liked him, but I thought I was just being paranoid. Anthea and Concordia wanted those roles so badly, I couldn't bear to intervene and possibly end up stopping them. But I should have…"

"This is all true?" Mitsumi asked. "And it all has to do with the story I told you you're here to tell?"

"It's true, all of it," Zinzolin interrupted and answered for Trevor. "Trust me when I tell you this: you have to know the entire story from the start for everything to make sense."

"He's right," Trevor added. "After that day, Ghetsis probably came to our bar more often than not. He was always there running through parts of his screenplay with both Anthea and Concordia, but it wasn't just that. I stood by and watched as he tried to ingratiate himself on a much more personal level with both of them. And believe me, when I say 'personal,' I mean personal. Especially with Concordia… it seemed like he favored her more of the two. I don't even want to think about why."

"What you just implied is disgusting enough to make me lose my appetite, that's for sure," Matt quietly said.

"A couple of months passed with the situation staying pretty much the way I just described it," Trevor continued. "I guess if it had stayed that way forever, things wouldn't have been as bad as they ended up. But then, there was one day where everything seemed off. Concordia was acting strangely and it looked to me like Anthea knew why, but I didn't. That was a busy day so I didn't have too much time to think about it, but once business ended for the day and we were closing… well, I should have seen it coming sooner."

~:~

The clear sky over Virbank City that night allowed the moon to give Trevor all the light he needed as he kicked open the back door of the bar and entered the adjacent alley. He had two large bags of trash in his hands, and barely enough space between the two buildings to drag them both to the dumpster at the end of the alley.

"I hate having to do this on days like today," he mumbled to himself. "More customers, more money. But more trash too. Ugh…"

When he reached the dumpster, Trevor released the trash bags, slouched and took a deep breath. He had to take a moment to stretch and work out the tension dragging the heavy trash brought upon him. Before he could open the dumpster and throw the bags in, a loud crash from just around the corner of the building pierced the relative quiet and made him jump.

"Let us go!" he could hear a voice - Anthea's voice - shouting.

"What is this?! Who are you?!" Concordia added.

"Why, my dear Goddesses, they work for me."

Reacting out of instinct, Trevor hid behind the dumpster. He noticed a piece of broken glass lying on the ground nearby, so he picked it up and turned it back and forth until he could see what was going on in front of the bar in its reflection.

Ghetsis was there, accompanied by a group of men in dark suits and sunglasses. The men had dragged Anthea and Concordia out of the bar while Ghetsis watched, his hands planted firmly in the pockets of his coat. When they saw Ghetsis, both Anthea and Concordia pulled back in horror, but their captors held them firmly in place.

"What are you… why are you kidnapping us, Ghetsis?" Concordia's voice made it sound more like she was begging instead of merely asking a question.

"Kidnapping you? Oh, no, I wouldn't call it that." From his vantage point, Trevor could see Ghetsis reach out and stroke Concordia's face. Just thinking about the act made his skin crawl. "You two should consider this a great day in your lives. You've passed your auditions! You got the roles! We must leave immediately so you can spend the coming months preparing for what comes next."

Concordia shrank back upon hearing this, but Anthea only fought more fiercely.

"I can't go anywhere like this! I have people here in Virbank who need me!"

Almost immediately, Ghetsis' face and tone turned dark. "Oh, I know. I'll see that they're taken care of, don't you worry."

Behind the dumpster, Trevor heard what Ghetsis said and immediately began to panic. He reacted before he could even think, dropping the glass and fleeing down the alley with such haste that he nearly tripped over the garbage bags he'd brought with him.

~:~

"I did nothing to try and save the two of them," Trevor confessed, "but I knew that if Ghetsis got to Anthea's kids before I did, something even worse would happen. It's haunted me ever since then… it would have been me alone against at least five people, so I would have failed… but I did nothing to help them. I should have tried."

"But Ghetsis never found the children, did he?" Mitsumi questioned.

"That's right. As soon as I saw Anthea and Concordia being kidnapped I fled to their apartment. The three of us were very close back then, so I sometimes looked after the kids for them. In order to protect them from Ghetsis I took them away from that apartment and hid them. Not long after that, I managed to get them out of Unova on a ship to Kanto. I don't even know what I was thinking back then… really, I wasn't thinking. I just knew I had to get them far away from Ghetsis as quickly as possible."

"That one Team Rocket member, Pierce, he said he was the son of one of them," Matt recalled. "Anthea's?"

"Yes," Trevor said, nodding.

"Then how did he end up in Team Rocket?"

"I couldn't exactly keep being an actor after fleeing Unova, could I?" Even though Trevor tried to make his question sound humorous, the slightest hint of bitterness slipped through into his voice. "If I were to appear in another movie, Ghetsis would see me and be able to track me down. I had to lay low… and unfortunately, money was in short supply for someone trying to survive and raise two young kids on their own. I did what I had to do - Giovanni's mother was the big boss back then, and her ambitions were a lot more traditionally business-oriented. I got recruited to contribute my skills and make training videos for the rank and file and the like, and I quickly realized that Team Rocket could provide the protection for the children that I could not."

"To think that it would fall to Team Rocket to protect orphans…" Mitsumi bitterly noted.

"Mitsumi, you alright?" Silva asked her, taking notice of her agitation. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she immediately pulled away.

"I'm fine," she snapped before turning her attention back to Trevor. "Keep talking."

"That's actually the end of my part of the story," Trevor said, "so unless Zinzolin has something to add…"

"I'll tell you what happened after Ghetsis took them, is that something you want to know?"

"Talk," Mitsumi flatly ordered him.

"Fine, fine, don't worry, I'll tell you everything." Zinzolin cleared his throat before he continued. "Even as far back as twenty years ago or more, Ghetsis had the bulk of what would become Team Plasma working to secretly build a castle underground."

"We all saw it," Mitsumi interjected.

"That is so, I suppose. I was stationed at the castle while it was under construction, as were most of my colleagues. Ghetsis and a select few of his inner circle, though, they lived at Ghetsis' estate in Lacunosa Town. That's where he took Anthea and Concordia when he kidnapped them. I didn't know what went on there. Ghetsis was very secretive. But I will tell you this, when Ghetsis finally brought them to the castle, they weren't alone."

~:~

Nearly a year had passed since Ghetsis kidnapped Anthea and Concordia from Virbank City. He'd gone into hiding since then, secretly supervising the construction of the castle from his Lacunosa estate. Vast wouldn't even come close to describing the scale of the palace, even before its completion. It was more like a small city, one that would serve as the seat of power for Team Plasma's kingdom upon its rise.

While the rest of the castle was under construction, enough of the first floor was complete to provide lodging for the soldiers that would go on to become Team Plasma's main fighting force. A central meeting hall had also been finished, and it was there that Ghetsis had summoned Zinzolin to. He stood in the candlelight of the hall awaiting his master, making sure to smooth the wrinkles out of his violet robes before Ghetsis arrived.

The grand double doors opposite Zinzolin were slowly opened by a pair of soldiers in white uniforms, allowing Ghetsis to enter with Anthea and Concordia behind them. While Ghetsis' appearance had remained much the same as a year prior, Anthea and Concordia had changed immensely. Gone were their ordinary street clothes, replaced by elegant, flowing gowns.

"Welcome back, Ghetsis," Zinzolin greeted him, bowing as he spoke. "To what do I owe this honor?"

Ghetsis placed his hands in his coat pockets and stepped aside, allowing Zinzolin to fully see Anthea and Concordia. They remained completely silent and did not even make eye contact with him.

"Zinzolin, I want to introduce you to some people who will be very important in the future. Meet Anthea and Concordia, the Goddesses of Love and Peace."

"So you found the ones who will be the king's counselors…" Zinzolin said.

"Not only that." Ghetsis gestured toward Concordia, who was carrying a small bundle in her arms. Zinzolin stepped closer to get a better look, and realized he could see a tiny face and a small amount of green hair. "This is the real meaning of our meeting today. Zinzolin, this child is N. He is the one who will be our king."

"The Hero of Ideals…" Zinzolin gasped, "...and the one who will serve alongside Zekrom. I knew this day would come eventually, but still, to set eyes upon him is overwhelming."

"If you consider merely seeing him to be overwhelming, I can't wait to see the look on your face when you find out your role in his preparation."

Ghetsis often said he couldn't wait to see peoples' reactions to events, even in the past. Zinzolin was already well aware of that habit, so even while he hoped to learn he'd have an influential role in Ghetsis' plan, he remained guarded. Ghetsis teasing something in a way that made it sound positive in order to surprise the person he was speaking to was another habit of his.

"You're going to be responsible for giving him the education he will need to be a strong and just king for the people when he comes of age," Ghetsis continued. "The king must be well versed in the reality of this world before he can change it. But I'm getting ahead of myself… his ideals must be fostered first. Zinzolin, you are to keep him in the castle garden and seclude him from all people. He is only to have contact with the Pokémon I bring here for the purpose of living with him. Am I clear on this?"

"Yes, yes you are." Zinzolin exhaled heavily when he realized Ghetsis was being direct with him. "If I may ask, though, how will he survive if he has no contact with humans?"

"The Pokémon will raise him. They will identify with him and he with them. A boy who has no contact with humanity and Pokémon who were cast out by humanity… they will come together to foster in him the ideal of a world where Pokémon are liberated from the oppression of people. That is the world he and Team Plasma will lead us all into."

~:~

"Ghetsis never told me where the boy came from," Zinzolin explained, "but I firmly believe to this day that Ghetsis himself was his father."

"Maybe that's why Ghetsis waited a few months before kidnapping them instead of taking them immediately," Trevor surmised. "He was seducing Concordia, like I said… perhaps he was waiting for her to…"

"Don't finish that sentence, we all know what you were going to say and don't want to think about it," Matt interrupted. "Although it does give me one question - is this really the same Ghetsis we're talking about here? Let's be honest here, the one I know wouldn't have waited a day let alone months."

Zinzolin couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, it's the same man, but your naivete can't be faulted. Twenty years ago, Ghetsis was a much more stable and patient man than he is now. That was back when he was dedicated to goals that he knew would take years to realize. Once he lost those dreams his mental state decayed, creating the Ghetsis of this time."

"Wait, there's one thing about that I don't understand," Silva said. "You said Ghetsis tasked you with giving N his education to become king. The information that we had previously suggested that Ghetsis himself was the one who did that."

"That's true from a certain point of view. Ghetsis 'educated' him by bringing Pokémon that were harmed by humans into the castle. As I said, they were the only ones who were allowed to be around N. He could hear their voices as they raised him, and he grew to identify with their suffering. It was all part of Ghetsis' plan to create a king who would fight for the ideal of Pokémon liberation."

"But what does this have to do with Polaris?" Anabel wondered out loud. "I'm missing something here."

"What you're missing is that Team Plasma was always a part of Polaris, from the moment of its conception," Zinzolin revealed, prompting Anabel and Matt to lock their eyes on him in anticipation of what would come next. "Ghetsis was a member of Polaris dating back far before I ever met him. He organized Team Plasma as a division of Polaris under his own leadership when he became one of the ten Chromosomes, the leaders of Polaris who make up a board called the Sacred Helix. Before that, he was nothing but a member of Unova's high society with great political ambition."

"We know all of that already," Mitsumi complained. "We know all about N's upbringing, too, so get to the next part involving Team Rocket."

"Alright, fine." Zinzolin sighed and stroked his beard for a moment before speaking again. "There's a little more about N before I get to that, though. It's necessary for context. Once he had grown into a young man, been educated and grown obsessed with the ideal of Pokémon liberation, the Dark Stone finally appeared to him. Once that happened, Ghetsis took N and some of us others to Dragonspiral Tower, where N would summon and ally with Zekrom."

~:~

North of Icirrus City, standing well above the forests surrounding it, was the ancient structure known as Dragonspiral Tower. Nobody knew for sure where it came from or when, but it was an icon in Unova's mythology. It was said that long ago a king had sealed up Zekrom in the form of the Dark Stone at the tower's peak. On that ominously cloudy day in northwestern Unova, if Ghetsis had his way, Zekrom would be summoned to the side of a new king.

The need for his businessman persona had long since expired, so Ghetsis discarded it in favor of a new look much better suited to his ambitions. Adopting the role of another advisor to his self-created king, he clad himself in blue-and-yellow robes bearing patterns that formed large eyes. Armor resembling the battlements of a castle rested on his shoulders, emblazoned just below his neck with the symbol of Team Plasma.

Zinzolin and five other men, all dressed in robes that matched each other except for their color, followed behind Ghetsis as he approached an altar in the garden atop Dragonspiral Tower. They were in turn followed by Anthea and Concordia as well as a group of Team Plasma soldiers.

"We're here," Ghetsis declared, stopping before he reached the altar and turning around. "My king, please, step forward."

The six sages, the Goddesses and all the soldiers parted, creating a direct path to the altar for N. Wrapped in a plain, cream-colored cloak, the now-grown king silently passed all those he believed to be loyal to him, stopping only when Ghetsis put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you prepared to ascend to your rightful throne, my king?"

"Yes," N replied, avoiding eye contact with Ghetsis or anyone else.

"Very well. This is the moment your entire life has been leading to." Ghetsis looked to the crowd of soldiers and gestured with his head to the altar.

Two soldiers broke off from the rest of the battalion and approached the altar themselves, one carrying a heavy case emblazoned with Team Plasma's symbol. Unlike the others, who had standard-issue white uniforms with blue hoods, the pair wore black-and-gray tactical uniforms instead. They carried the case right up to the altar, where they placed it on the ground, opened it and carefully removed its contents - a pitch-black, spherical stone with three curved ridges in its surface. Moving with great caution, they carried the stone from the case to the altar, where they gently placed it before backing away.

"Thank you, Aldith, Barret," Ghetsis said to them. He then stepped back himself and said to N, "Your time has come, my king. Zekrom awaits you. Step forward and take your rightful place as this era's Hero of Ideals."

N said nothing and simply walked past Ghetsis, who smirked before turning around to watch him. He stepped before the altar, spread out his arms, and looked up towards the dark, cloudy sky.

"Great dragon of ideals, Zekrom, hear my voice!" N called out. "From my birth I have lived amongst the most abused and neglected Pokémon, and my heart is connected to theirs! We speak as one! I come before you with the voices of the millions of Pokémon worldwide whose freedom and well-being have been denied by humanity! Great Zekrom, hear our voices as I tell you, this is my ideal - I will fight for a world where Pokémon are freed from humans and live in the complete freedom they deserve! Come to my side and lend me your power!"

A spark of blue electricity coursed through the stone, and it twitched slightly as if responding to N's words. Overhead, the clouds darkened further and slowly began to rotate, with the eye of the vortex opening up directly above the tower. Ghetsis, his fellow sages and the soldiers all stared up in awe at what was developing.

"The time we've waited for has finally come," one of the sages, whose robe was brown, said to the others. "We'll be able to liberate Pokémon and get mankind to treat them with the respect and understanding they deserve…"

The stone continued to tremble and spark, its activity growing more and more violent as the vortex overhead strengthened. When bolts of lightning began cracking the sky, a blue light enveloped the stone. It rose up off the altar and floated in the air, shooting electricity off in all directions.

Ghetsis carefully watched the levitating stone. N was the one bringing it to life, yet all the years of planning he'd put in made Ghetsis the real one causing it. It had been all thanks to Ghetsis' work - the years of isolating N from humans and only allowing him contact with abused Pokémon - that N became the ideologue driven by blindingly powerful ideals that he was. Those ideals were what Ghetsis needed to draw Zekrom out, but they had a beneficial second effect - N was so driven that he would remain completely naive to Ghetsis' using him as a puppet.

The stone suddenly shot up into the sky and dissolved into the clouds, infusing its light throughout them. The lightning over the tower intensified, and the center of the vortex projected blue light down like a spotlight. Finally, a huge, dark figure emerged into the light, coming into the sight of the Team Plasma members.

As the shape descended, its rugged, saurian features became clearer and clearer to those looking up at it from the tower. It had thick, strong legs, hooked claws, angular wings and a cone-shaped tail that glowed with the same blue electricity breaking through the sky all around it.

N couldn't help himself from looking directly up into the light and meeting Zekrom's gaze. The intensity in the dragon's red eyes overwhelmed him, surging through his body in much the same way its electricity would. That power, that incredible, bursting aura, seized N so deeply that for the briefest moment, he felt doubt about what he was doing.

Zekrom saw N take a step back and halted its descent. The dragon was well aware of that moment of doubt as soon as it flashed through N's mind. It roared, breaking the air with a cry that sounded like the rumbling of thunder. The conical generator inside Zekrom's tail sparked to life in front of the members of Team Plasma, filling with bright blue light seconds before Zekrom rained a storm of lightning bolts down on the tower, throwing N, Ghetsis and the rest of Team Plasma around like rag dolls.

~:~

"N's heart was appropriately filled with the ideals he needed to summon Zekrom," Zinzolin recalled, "but at the critical moment, just as Zekrom appeared, N's resolve wavered. It was brief, but it was enough to make Zekrom not see him as worthy at the time. Zekrom passed down its judgment upon all of us, and by the time we came to, it was gone. We tracked it to Nuvema Town before we lost track of it, and Ghetsis sent N on a quest through Unova to strengthen his resolve."

"Wait, you said Nuvema Town?" Trevor said in surprise. "I know when that happened. Three of our agents were there and had an encounter with Zekrom in Nuvema Town, so that must have been right after you summoned it."

"Stop for a minute." Mitsumi put her hands down on the table, a bit more forcefully than she intended. "Don't just skip ahead like that. Why were you people in Unova in the first place? What brought you there?"

"You're right," Trevor replied with a small laugh. "Sorry about that. Alright, let's go back to the beginning, before any of us went to Unova. I should tell you, the story from here isn't just what I saw, it's based on what I was told afterward, too."

~:~

One thing that always surprised members of Team Rocket when they were called to speak to Stacia was how much more elaborate her personal office was compared to Giovanni's, despite him being the head of the organization. He was satisfied having only what he needed to work, while she indulged herself in some of the luxuries Giovanni saved for his living space. Paintings filled the spaces between the lamps on the walls, and she even had a piano next to the full-length windows that gave her a panoramic view of Viridian City in the distance.

Of course, the Team Rocket members would only notice the office if they weren't consumed by fear of why they had been summoned to her in the first place. Many who had to go there were. Trevor and the rest of Nekou's team, however, weren't. While Stacia sat at the head of the office and tapped at her laptop, Trevor and Rosalie waited at the ornate table in the center. Nekou herself was the only one ignoring decorum, casually drinking a can of beer while spread across the couch opposite Stacia.

Giovanni's secretary finally looked up from the laptop and huffed in annoyance at what she saw. "Get your feet off my couch," she said contemptuously.

"Oh, alright." Nekou made no effort to hide her own irritation as she turned to sit upright, though hers paled in comparison to frustration evinced by Stacia's fierce glare. "So you called my team in here for something, right? Are we going to get one of the legendary Stacia scoldings?"

"You keep up with what you're doing and you'll get worse than that," Stacia immediately shot back, "but no, you're here because Giovanni has a mission for you."

"It's a little unusual that we'd be getting those orders from you and not from Giovanni himself," Rosalie commented.

"Mister Giovanni is very busy with his own preparations for this mission. This is something that could change the balance of power in the world, and tip it into Team Rocket's hands for good. Look here." Stacia pressed several keys on her laptop, causing a holographic image projected from the center of the table to flicker to life. "This is the Unova region, which is far away from Kanto."

As soon as Trevor set eyes on the landscape of Unova in the image, he brought his hands to his face and clasped them over his mouth.

"It has come to our attention that there is an artifact owned by the museum in Nacrene City that is said to possess great power," Stacia continued. "When I say great power, I mean world-altering power. It will come as no surprise to you that we must obtain that power for Team Rocket."

Trevor lowered his hands, bringing them to rest in his lap. "You're right about that, it's no surprise. What's our assignment?"

"Infiltrate the Nacrene Museum and gather intelligence on the artifacts contained within. You are to learn about anything that could be taken for Team Rocket's benefit and return that intelligence to Headquarters."

~:~

"For us, it was a typical job, even if I was nervous about going back to Unova," Trevor continued. "Infiltration, spy work, nothing we hadn't done a million times before. That's what our little team did."

"And what kind of work did you do in Unova this time?" Silva questioned him.

"The same type of thing we always did. Each of us had our own part in it. Nekou's the one who does the actual infiltration, but Ada and I create her cover identities first. That time, we created a character we named Jane Hammond, who supposedly was an archeologist working on documenting ancient items from different places."

 _"Wait, that name… I've heard that name before."_ Matt brought his hand to his chin. _"Colress, that's it! Back at the Battle Hall, Colress thought that was Nekou's name when I ran into him. Did I accidentally blow her cover…? Or did he already know and was just messing with me?"_

"So we established a character for Nekou to play, then the four of us - Nekou, myself, Ada and Rosalie - we traveled to Unova and put up a base of operations at the Driftveil Luxury Suites hotel. Ada and Rosalie stayed behind to provide remote support, and I accompanied Nekou to Nacrene City to act as a lookout while she investigated the museum."

~:~

Nacrene City, located on the banks of Unova's eastern river adjacent to the Skyarrow Bridge, was a unique place even among the region's diverse locales. It wasn't a city of traditional buildings, be they like the houses and small apartment buildings of Striaton and Nuvema to the east, or the skyscrapers of Castelia across the the bridge. No, much of Nacrene City was made up of old warehouses, repurposed for both residential and business use. It was a bright, colorful place, with artists having turned the buildings, the streets and everything in between into one big, citywide canvas.

One of the few structures that didn't fit in with Nacrene's unique style was its museum, a palatial building in the northern part of the city. Inside, each of its spacious exhibit rooms only furthered that image of splendor with their golden walls and blue marble floors.

Nekou was waiting in the first of the exhibit rooms visitors entered, taking pictures with her phone from underneath a giant Dragonite fossil anchored from the ceiling. For her character, she wore a pink dress and a black sun hat, and she had further changed her appearance by cutting her hair to roughly half its normal length.

"Miss Hammond?"

Upon hearing herself being addressed, Nekou stashed her phone away in the sash of her dress and turned to the thin, bespectacled man who had called to her. He wasn't alone as he approached her. At his side was a muscular, dark-skinned woman, and next to her, a pink, rabbit-like Pokémon.

"Yes?" Nekou adjusted her glasses, making sure to covertly press the tiny button on the stem that made them start transmitting footage to Trevor outside.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting," the man said, placing his hand against his chest and tilting his head forward. "I'm Hawes, the assistant director of the museum, and this is our director, Lenora. She happens to be the Nacrene Gym Leader and my dear wife, too!"

"You two make a cute pair," Nekou complimented them. It wasn't a part of her character, either - her playful grin made clear just how genuine it was.

"No need to flatter us, you know!" Lenora replied with a hearty laugh. "So, I'd like to know exactly what kind of research you're working on. My aide mentioned you wanted to talk with me about something, but I want to hear what it is in your own words."

"Well, I'm conducting research on behalf of Malie University in Alola," she explained, recalling the backstory created by Trevor and Ada. "I've been going here and there, looking into stories about different powerful artifacts. My studies led me here. I want to document anything of the sort that you might have, so my research can be as comprehensive as possible."

"You know, dear, I think I might know something she'd be interested in," Hawes said to Lenora. "Since she's from an Alolan university."

"I think I'm getting what you mean." Setting her eyes on Nekou as she spoke, Lenora proposed, "Miss Hammond, since Alola's mythology heavily centers on the sun and moon, how would you like to see something that could be considered an artificial sun?"

Nekou's eye twitched the instant those words hit her ears. _"An artificial sun?"_ she thought. _"Such a thing would be unimaginably fucking powerful… it could change the balance of power in the world… and tip it right into Team Rocket's hands! Just like Stacia said!"_ She brought her cheerful side back to the surface, but this time, it was more of an act. "Yes, that sounds exactly like the kind of thing I'd like to see! Please take me there!"

"You're an upbeat one, aren't you?" Lenora teased. "You remind me of myself. When I was little, my dad always brought home bones from the mine he worked in. Looking at them captivated me and fostered a desire for adventure that brought me to where I am today. Come on, I'll show you what I'm talking about. This way."

Lenora started to walk away, gesturing with her hand for Nekou, Hawes and the rabbit Pokémon to follow. She guided them down a wide hallway linking the room with the Dragonite fossil to another exhibit room. Nekou couldn't help but glance around at the paintings lining the walls as she walked, but it was something else that caught her attention enough that she had to force herself to not stop walking.

Going the opposite direction down the hallway, heading back towards the Dragonite room, were three men dressed in identical dark suits and black sunglasses. Their coordination wasn't what struck her about them, though. It was what they had stitched on the breast pockets of their suits - a shield, half black and half white, bearing a blue 'P' overlaid on a backwards 'Z.' The symbol of Team Plasma.

She made sure to adjust her glasses as they passed by, ensuring that an image of the men and the symbol got sent to Trevor. _"Can't tell if they looked at me…"_ she thought, feeling a chill run down her spine.

"Miss Hammond?"

Hawes' voice snapped Nekou back into reality, and she returned to her false persona. "I'm sorry, I got distracted," she said, forcing herself to sound as sweet as possible.

"No worries," Hawes replied with a smile. He gestured to the right and said, "Come this way, please."

Hawes led Nekou over to Lenora, who was waiting for them next to a glass case. She frowned, put her hands on her hips, and said to them, "Let's see some more dedication." Nekou and Hawes responded with pouts of their own, and as soon as she saw them, Lenora couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just teasing you, come on!"

"I'm tough, I can take it," Nekou responded. "Let's just see that artificial sun of yours."

"You got it. Audino?" The rabbit Pokémon, who had followed closely at Lenora's side, trilled softly and handed her trainer a tablet computer she'd been carrying. Lenora tapped the screen several times, and stepped aside to allow Nekou a better view of the case. Inside was a chunk of rock, its black surface covered with cavities. "This is called a Meteonite. It's a piece of a much larger object that entered Earth's atmosphere in ancient times, where it broke up into pieces that landed all over the planet."

"Meteonite? What makes it different from an ordinary meteorite?" Nekou wondered.

"This one is made of a unique element we don't yet fully understand," Lenora tapped on the screen a few more times, then raised her finger as she started to relate its information. "There is a volcano called Reversal Mountain in eastern Unova. In ancient times, it experienced a major eruption, filling Unova's sky with volcanic ash. The sun was blocked out by the ash, and subsequently, the survival of Unova's people was threatened. It was in this most desperate time that the people of Unova discovered a Meteonite much larger than this one, and realized that it shined with a light like that of the sun. To survive, they took the Meteonite and put it in the sky, allowing it to act as the sun until the day the air became clear once again. For them, the light of the Meteonite..." Lenora lowered the tablet to her side and turned to the others before finishing, "... was truly the light of hope."

"Amazing," Nekou whispered to herself. She stepped closer to the display case, having to stop herself from reaching up and taking the small Meteonite right then and there. _"If we can get our hands on the whole thing, Team Rocket will be free to do whatever the fuck we want! And if Team Rocket can do anything, then so can I…"_

"Impressive story, isn't it?" Lenora asked Nekou. "We've got some more materials about that era in our library, if you'd like to see them."

"Oh, of course!"

~:~

"It was to obtain the Meteonite that Giovanni sent Jessie, James and Meowth to Unova. Well, that was one reason. Needless to say, when I found out that Team Plasma was involved, it terrified me. The memories of what happened in Virbank City never faded from my mind, not then, not now."

~:~

It wasn't long after Nekou finished gathering intelligence at the museum that Trevor contacted Giovanni. The Team Rocket boss received the call at their headquarters in Kanto, and when the subject matter became clear, he swiftly brought Dr. Zager in on the conversation. He had three holographic screens projected in front of him from his desk, displaying Trevor, Zager and a still image of the Team Plasma logo from Nekou's recordings.

"Why is that here?" Zager demanded, losing control of his voice. "Where did you see that symbol?"

"Nekou saw it while she was doing some work at the Nacrene Museum," Trevor answered. He had a better handle on his volume than the scientist, but his weary look gave away that he was just as distressed.

"Team Plasma, a division of Polaris led by Ghetsis Harmonia," Zager identified. "I never worked with him, but his ambition and drive were well known throughout Polaris."

"We've known for a long time that there was a secret organization operating in the shadows of Unovan society, so it's not much of a surprise that we'd run into them when we went there." Giovanni scratched Persian, who was sitting faithfully next to him. "I already have Stacia selecting the next agents who I'll be sending to Unova to work alongside you and your teammates, Trevor. They'll be acting on the intelligence you've gathered, so stand by for your next orders."

"Very well."

With that, Trevor disconnected his end of the conversation, making his screen disappear. Now alone with Zager, Giovanni said to him, "It appears that the conflict you warned us would come is almost here."

"I'm worried that we've only seen Team Plasma and not the rest of Polaris, to tell you the truth," Zager confessed. "Polaris intends to destroy the entire world and recreate it according to their vision. If they're hanging back and letting Ghetsis do all the work, I fear this may be a trap."

"It could be, but this is still an opportunity that Team Rocket cannot pass up. The Meteonite, a cosmic object that can harness energy like an artificial sun… if Team Rocket can obtain it, it will be a valuable weapon when the rest of Polaris emerges."

"I can't argue with that. Now, please excuse me, I have some preparations of my own to do."

"You are dismissed."

Just as Zager ended his own communication and the remaining two screens vanished from Giovanni's desk, the doors to his office opened and Stacia entered. She said nothing as she crossed the room, moving with deliberate, practiced steps. Once she reached Giovanni, she took a black folder from under her arm and slid it onto his desk.

"I informed the agents assigned to the project to return here immediately," Stacia said as Giovanni reviewed the papers in the folder.

Giovanni looked up and replied, "Well done. Thank you."

"I'm certain they'll be perfect for the job."

"Good. You can go now."

Stacia bowed, then turned around and started to leave the office. As she did so, Giovanni laid the folder down on his desk, spreading the three documents inside across it.

They were personnel files of Jessie, James and Meowth.

~:~

"So that was when Giovanni decided to send more agents to Unova, and he sent the three Stacia selected. Jessie, James and Meowth were the ones who encountered Zekrom in Nuvema Town before it disappeared."

"There was so much more to that than I expected…" Matt said to Trevor. "To think those Meteonites are that powerful… now what I saw on the Magnet Train makes a lot more sense. And Nekou knew…"

"Don't hold it against her," Trevor said. "From what I know, she wanted to keep Olivia safe. Back during that battle in Goldenrod, you and Bunny ended up going to retrieve the Meteonite while Nekou kept Olivia with her, right? You've seen how hard Nekou will fight to protect people she cares about. There was no safer place for her to be."

"Is that really true?" Anabel wondered out loud. "I'm her mother. I have to be the one to protect her."

"That's totally understandable," Trevor agreed. "Once we go back and Olivia's feeling better, I hope you and Nekou will have a heart-to-heart about that. Olivia really likes her, and she really likes Olivia. I want to see all three of you work something out."

"So what you're saying is that you decided you were going to obtain this Meteonite," Silva said, recapping what he'd heard, "and three more members of Team Rocket were sent to Unova to do it. What else happened before you fought Team Plasma? That didn't happen immediately, did it?"

"No, it didn't. Even with everything Nekou learned from the Nacrene Museum, we lacked something we needed to find the big Meteonite. Any guesses what it was?"

"It's not going to be something as simple as a map, is it?" Matt ventured. "It never is…"

"If there was a map, someone else would have found it by then," Anabel said in agreement.

"You're actually not all that far off," Trevor revealed, making both Matt and Anabel look at him in surprise. "It wasn't a literal map. What we needed was a way to track the energy of the Meteonite. Think of it as like a magnet drawing in metal. We found a lead to that when we learned of the Dreamyard."

"The site where research on the energy of dreams was being conducted?" Mitsumi questioned for confirmation.

"Indeed. It was thought that if the Meteonite had could act as an artificial sun, then using another powerful type of energy might reveal the Meteonite's own energy field to us and allow us to track it. Giovanni sent Jessie, James and Meowth to the Dreamyard with plans for a mechanical weapon Dr. Zager designed to absorb the Dream Energy. Even though they got disrupted, they managed to acquire enough of the Dream Energy for Dr. Zager to examine. And he made an incredible discovery with it."

~:~

None who passed by the abandoned building in a small town between Striaton City and Nacrene City would have thought much of it. With its walls beginning to crumble and many of its windows either cracked or completely missing, it didn't exactly have much to call attention to itself. It was just one of many old buildings that had fallen into disrepair in an urban landscape.

And that made it perfect for Jessie, James and Meowth to use. They gathered around the computer terminal they used for communications inside one of the building's ruined offices, and when they entered their login information, Giovanni's face flashed onto its screen.

"Ready, sir," James said. "All units assembled."

"Good," answered the trio's boss. "Your next mission will take place in the Desert Resort."

"The Desert Resort?" Jessie inquisitively repeated, her eyes widening slightly.

Giovanni's image was replaced on the screen by a map of Unova, which promptly zoomed in on the region between Castelia City and Nimbasa City. "The Desert Resort is located here," he explained. "There is a meteor called a Meteonite buried somewhere in this area. Your mission is to locate and secure it."

With Jessie, James and Meowth watching attentively, the image on the terminal's screen changed again. This time, it displayed a computer-generated animation of a large meteor approaching Earth.

"A long time ago, this Meteonite burst into our atmosphere, broke apart, and was scattered around the world," Giovanni continued, with the screen illustrating his words. "It's said that the largest piece of it can be found in the Unova region. Even one tiny fragment of this Meteonite can unleash an enormous amount of energy. Very soon after the analysis of the energy sample you sent us from the Dreamyard was completed, we located an enormous energy flow in the Unova region that has an identical energy signature, and the center of that energy flow is located within the Desert Resort."

The screen changed once more, returning to Giovanni's image.

"So now, if we can obtain the Meteonite, we can alter the energy balance of the entire world. This is the key to Team Rocket's plan for world conquest." Giovanni's bold declaration drew ambitious, excited smiles from his followers. "Also, we'll be sending you an additional agent for this most important mission."

An electronic personnel file materialized on the screen, revealing both a full-body image of Pierce and a great amount of information about him.

"The significance of which I'm sure cannot be overstated," James said in agreement.

"Proceed to the rendezvous point immediately," Giovanni commanded.

"Sir!" all three members of the trio responded, saluting their boss.

~:~

"That certainly fills in one critical point, why you were in the Desert Resort in the first place," Silva said. "The picture's starting to fill out, but what I don't get is why Team Plasma hasn't done anything yet."

"We were doing our own research into the Meteonite," Zinzolin answered. "That's why we had men at the Nacrene Museum and the Antimony Research Lab…"

"Antimony Research Lab?" Anabel interjected. "What's that?"

"I was actually about to get to that," said Trevor. "So at that point we had a basic idea of what the Meteonite could do and where to find it. What we still needed was a way to understand in real terms how we could use it for our own gain. Obviously, with Team Rocket's scientific prowess we could study it and find all that out ourselves, but with Team Plasma's activity we needed a way to move the clock forward. The Antimony Research Lab was our ticket to that."

~:~

After finishing their work at the Nacrene Museum, Trevor and Nekou returned to the Driftveil Luxury Suites, where Ada and Rosalie were waiting for them. The four had no further orders at the time, so all of them took the opportunity to enjoy their accommodations while awaiting word from Giovanni or Stacia.

That morning, Trevor, Ada and Rosalie were sitting around a table in the suite they'd turned into a command center. Trevor and Rosalie were caught up in a conversation about his past in Unova while Ada quietly read on her laptop.

"I really would like to go back there," Trevor said to Rosalie, "even if it was to just see a movie in the Pokéstar Theater again. But you know, I can't… it would be too risky. I'm too worried someone will recognize me, and if Ghetsis finds out it could jeopardize everything we've worked for. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." Rosalie took a sip of coffee before continuing. "There are other movie theaters around. There's one right here in Driftveil. If I really want to see _Mystery Doors of the Magical Land_ right away, I can go to one of them."

"The experience of seeing a movie at the Pokéstar Theater isn't like anything else. That's why I feel bad. I'll never forget the feeling of seeing a movie there for the first time as a kid… that's why I even decided to become an actor in the first place. It changed my life. I feel bad that I'm preventing you from experiencing that."

"Like I said, don't worry about it." In an attempt to help Trevor feel better, Rosalie reached out and grasped his hand, then smiled at him. "Once we beat Team Plasma and get rid of Ghetsis, there'll be plenty of time for me to see all the movies I want there."

"Speaking of," Ada abruptly interrupted, "I just found something in the news that you two might find interesting…"

"What is it?" Rosalie asked her.

"Let me just read it to you…" Ada leaned in closer to her laptop's screen and started to repeat what was on it. "The Antimony Research Lab will be hosting a function for the media, as well as scholars and scientists from around the world, at which it is expected that new information on the facility's work on alternate energy sources will be presented. Sponsored by the Aether Foundation, the Antimony Research Lab has been conducting experiments on the unique elements found in meteorites, with the goal of finding a new source of energy that is both low-cost and sustainable. The staff of the laboratory did not respond to request for comment, but a statement was provided to Unova News by President Lusamine of the Aether Foundation. She says, "We are very proud of the encouraging work the Antimony Research Lab is showing us. While humanity has made incredible advancements using fossil fuels, it is important to make the transition away from them in order to preserve the environments of humans and Pokémon. We will be providing more information as it is announced by the Antimony Research Laboratory.""

"The unique elements found in meteorites?" Rosalie repeated. "Does that sound like what I think it does to anyone else?"

"So you noticed it, too…" Ada confirmed. "We have to get into that laboratory. If we had the Meteonite research they have, it would send our goals much further ahead…"

"You can say that again." Even though she had been bathing in the adjacent room, Nekou had been listening to the whole thing and by that point stepped out in a loosely-tied bathrobe to talk to her teammates. "Ada, you up for forging me an invite?"

"Absolutely, you know I always am."

"We better contact Giovanni first, though," Rosalie said. "As big an opportunity as this is, we might need help from the other agents for it."

~:~

"That's exactly what happened," Trevor continued explaining. "We called Giovanni and he told us he would have Pierce send Jessie, James and Meowth to help us get the data out of the Antimony Research Lab. It was a good thing we did, too. It wasn't an operation we could have done on our own. Our job? Get in that party and find a way to take everything that lab had."

~:~

Nekou sighed as she surveyed the hall where the function was being held. It wasn't that she disliked parties, far from it. No, this wasn't a party at all. The report Ada read about the event called it a function, and Nekou couldn't think of many more words that would accurately describe it. Function. A word that carried an air of dignity around it, though looking at all the finely dressed people around her, Nekou thought she would call it snobbery instead.

"I hate this," she muttered to herself as she worked her way through the crowd. "All these stuck up…"

"Just focus on why you're there," Rosalie said to her. An image of the scientist was projected onto the inside of the masquerade mask Nekou traded her sun hat for. "If the lab is doing a presentation on their work, their people should have to have access devices on them. Get as close to the high-level staff as you can and we should be able to do the rest remotely, then pass it off to Jessie, James and Meowth so they can break into the research wing."

"I'm going to need a spa day to unwind after this." Nekou stopped walking when she noticed a table covered with food and drink on ice. "Or I'll just enjoy this as much as I can while I'm here."

"Welcome, miss," the man running the table said to Nekou when she approached. She flashed him a forced smile in return. "Would you like anything?"

"What is it?"

"Clauncher claw meat imported directly from Ambrette Town," he answered, "and vintage wine made from Bluk Berries harvested at one of Unova's finest wineries."

"Fu-" Remembering that she was still in character, Nekou caught herself and fumbled, managing to say instead, "...fantastic, that sounds fantastic! Of course I want some!"

Nekou eagerly accepted both a small plate of the Clauncher meat and a glass of wine before making her way over to a place where she could sit down. While she ate, she continued to survey the room. Even among all the formally-dressed people there, when she spotted the three men in the dark suits bearing Team Plasma's symbol, they immediately stood out to her.

"Rosalie, you seeing that?" Nekou whispered.

"Crystal clear," Rosalie replied. "They weren't exactly subtle to begin with, but their movements are getting more and more suspicious… they really must be after the Meteonite too."

"I think you're onto something. First the museum and now here? You don't think they figured us out already, do you?"

"It's not impossible that they might have." Rosalie shut her eyes. "We can't give up our mission now, though. We can beat them."

"I hope you're right about that."

Just then, the lights in the hall dimmed, and a spotlight went up on the stage at the head of the room. The people in the crowd, who had been talking among themselves, all turned to watch as a bearded man in a lab coat stepped out and walked to a podium that had been set up on the stage. He adjusted the microphone in front of himself, fixed his large green glasses and ran a hand through his thick blonde hair before finally addressing the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight," he said to them. "I am Faba Antimony, the illustrious leader of this laboratory. All of you, you will be the first to receive the honor of knowing what we are developing here. Wicke, my dear, if you please."

Faba extended his arm towards another scientist who had entered the stage, a woman wearing pink-framed glasses. She nodded to him and then tapped the screen of the tablet she held in her arms. In response to her prompting, multiple projections of green windows bearing graphs, diagrams and other types of data materialized in the center of the stage.

"Imagine a world where a single object could provide enough energy to run not an entire city, but an entire region," Faba declared, urging his audience to share in his fantasy. "Not only is this world often cruel to its inhabitants, its inhabitants are not kind to it either. Our ever-increasing population places ever more strident demands upon our society to provide for them, but we do not treat our planet with the respect it deserves. In order to provide for ourselves, we pollute, we consume, we destroy. And when we do, Mother Nature punishes us, lashing out by taking away the environments we need to survive and bringing down her harsh judgment in the form of extreme weather and natural calamity. Looking into the far-flung future, this situation is truly not sustainable. That is why, with the assistance of the Aether Foundation, my Antimony Research Lab is here to act as a line of defense for the survival of both the planet and those living here!"

Unable to stand still behind the podium any longer, Faba disconnected the microphone from it and walked closer to the holographic projects. The eyes of the crowd followed his every movement, and Nekou was careful to watch him as she continued drinking so everything would be recorded.

"We must end our reliance on fuels that are torn from the earth and then end up fouling the atmosphere," Faba continued, "thus warming our planet and causing ever more extreme weather. Environmental destruction threatens the survival of both humanity and Pokémon, and both I and the Aether Foundation believe that this must be stopped. I… well, not just myself. My dear Wicke and my son are working here too… the personnel of the Antimony Research Lab are working on a new energy source that will give us the ability to end our reliance on planet-destroying fossil fuels. This," Faba said as he pointed at a projection that overtook the others, "is the Meteonite. It is made of an element that we currently believe is not found natively on this planet. In Unova's ancient past, it is said this was used as an artificial sun following a devastating eruption of Reversal Mountain. That age is long past, but it is time for the modern era to learn a lesson from it. Using the Meteonite today, we will be able to replace all of Unova's power plants with a clean, limitless energy source! This evening is a celebration of the bright future the Meteonite holds for not only Unova but the entire world, so please, enjoy what we have brought you. This celebration will be only the first night of many."

~:~

"So Faba, Wicke and their son started mingling with the crowd and talking abo-" Trevor cut himself off with a sudden laugh he couldn't suppress. Turning to Matt, he said, "Oh, right, their son. You're gonna laugh when you hear who it is."

"It's someone I know?"

"Someone you know from quite recently, no less." Trevor took a deep breath, deliberately drawing out his revelation. "It's Colress."

Matt couldn't help but gasp at stare at Trevor for a moment, his uncovered eye going as wide as it possibly could. Yet as the initial surprise wore off, he simply took off one of his gloves and put his metal hand against his face.

"It all makes perfect sense now," he said to himself with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Anabel asked him. "Who is that?"

"Back in Ecruteak City, at the Battle Hall, he was one of the other competitors. I lost to him because Cordelia didn't have any moves that would really work on his Klinklang. Thing is, he's really a member of Polaris who was working with Ghetsis, but also, when I ran into him he asked me about Nekou using the Jane Hammond alias. Now I get it. He knew all along who she was, what Trevor's describing now must be when they met…"

"Wait, no, this doesn't make sense," Mitsumi interrupted. "Team Plasma members were at the function, Colress worked there on Meteonite research… it all implies that there's a connection between Team Plasma and someone who's a high-up in the Aether Foundation, plus this is much earlier than any other known link between Colress and Team Plasma."

"I know how it sounds, but that isn't the case," Zinzolin told her. "Faba never had anything to do with us, and Colress didn't join Team Plasma until after this."

"Unless you're lying to cover up the truth," Mitsumi shot back.

"Why would I do that when it would risk my deal with you? Lying to you after telling you this much would be a fatal mistake." Zinzolin raised his finger for emphasis. "No, it's very simple. While N was on his journey through Unova, Ghetsis tasked the rest of us with finding new ideas and recruits to bring into our fold. It is true that we were looking for the Meteonite and ended up recruiting Colress after the incident in Castelia City ended. I'll even add something new - by the time of the event at the Antimony Research Lab, Team Plasma already knew that Team Rocket had come from Kanto and was up to something in Unova. We knew that because we were monitoring police activity and found out about a report filed by the Officer Jenny of Striaton City."

Mitsumi hesitated, but ultimately sat back in her chair. "Fine," she bitterly said. "Go on."

"I guess that means Team Plasma only knew about Jessie, James and Meowth," Trevor mused before continuing his story. "So anyway, Faba, Wicke and Colress… all three of them went to talk to the people attending the event. Matt, you already guessed it, but Colress was the one Nekou ended up targeting."

~:~

A group of people had clustered around Colress, filling the space between him and Nekou, but she still was able to clearly see him. She could hear him going on and on about the research he was involved in, praising himself and his intelligence all the while, but she cared little for the particulars.

"Tell me I can go after him," she asked Rosalie through their remote connection. "Tell me I can go after him instead of Faba."

"If he, Faba and Wicke are running the show over there, they should all have access to the lab's systems," Rosalie replied. "Go wild."

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this one." Nekou slowly licked her lips while considering exactly how to approach Colress. An answer came to her quite quickly, so she took a deep breath to focus her mind, adopted the phony smile of her persona, and pushed her way through the throng around him. "That's fascinating, Mister Colress! Only someone as smart as you could come up with something like that!"

What she said had little with whatever Colress had been talking about, and Nekou knew it. But what she also knew just from watching him for a few minutes was that he was someone easily manipulated via his vanity and ego.

"That's _Doctor_ Colress to you," he smugly said to her, "but I'll forgive that little error of yours because you're right, my dear."

 _"Got him. Like a Venomoth to a flame."_ Keeping her true thoughts to herself, Nekou smiled sweetly at Colress. "My mistake. It's only natural someone involved in such difficult work would have a doctorate. Where'd you graduate from?"

"Oh?" Colress put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat and turned to fully face Nekou, then adjusted his glasses before he spoke again. "I graduated from Opelucid University. Your curiosity has me intrigued, though."

"I'm from Malie University in Alola myself, that's why I asked." Nekou extended her hand to Colress. "Jane Hammond. My work is on documenting rare artifacts from all over the world."

"Ah, another academic!" Any hesitation Colress had about the situation evaporated at the presence of someone of comparable intelligence, and he eagerly shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hammond! I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about our work on the Meteonite for your research. As long as you cite me, of course!"

"You don't have to worry about that at all," Nekou assured him with yet another false smile. "Can the Meteonite really be used as an artificial sun?"

"Everything we've found says yes! With our small samples of the element, we've observed a type of energy that reacts with the energy within the earth itself. Our experiments have shown that its energy has comparable effects to those of real sunlight. That's consistent with all the evidence from the time of Reversal Mountain's eruption we've found, too. Not only were the ancient Unovan people able to get the necessary benefits sunlight provides from it, its energy was so great that it even was able to affect the weather. The Meteonite was able to stave off the prolonged winter that the eruption threatened to force upon Unova! Incredible, no?"

"Yes, that is incredible…"

Nekou was already actively reviewing all the potential uses Team Rocket could have for the Meteonite in her mind when a text transmission from Rosalie appeared on the lenses of her mask.

_"Detecting an access device. Unstable signal. Get closer."_

Luckily for her, Nekou already knew exactly how to approach the situation this change brought on. She took a long sip from the glass of wine in her hand - her second - then groaned and wiped her forehead with the back of her free hand.

"Whew…" she sighed, "...your father wasn't kidding with this stuff. I'm feeling a little woozy, so how about we go somewhere a little more quiet and keep talking?"

"That's a fair request, my dear." Looking over his shoulder, Colress said to the others who he had been boasting to, "Sorry, but I will be spending some time with my new acquaintance for now. I'll be back."

Colress took Nekou by the hand and led her to a nearby doorway, which allowed them into a long hallway lined with potted plants. Once they were out of the crowded hall, he let her hand go so they could walk side-by-side.

"What about what your father said?" Nekou asked him. "Is there really a way for the Meteonite to provide enough energy to power all of Unova?"

"Not with the small samples of it that we have," Colress explained. "There are bigger ones out there, including the one that the ancient Unovans used as their artificial sun. Once we get that, we'll change the world!"

"Do you know where that one is?"

Colress shut his eyes and put his hands in his pockets again. "Unfortunately, not yet. A survey we conducted using the energy of the small Meteonite we have indicated that it might be somewhere in the Desert Resort, but who knows right now where its exact location there is."

 _"So we aren't the only ones who know about that,"_ Nekou thought. "Sounds like it'll be tough to track down."

"You should know, being from Malie City and all. That's not too far from Haina Desert and I know very well the reputation that place has."

_"Got a lock on the access card, but it's weak. See if you can get closer."_

The instant Rosalie's message flashed across Nekou's lenses, she knew what she had to do. She could see a coat room with its door left open only a few feet away. That would suit her needs perfectly.

Before Colress even realized what was happening, Nekou grabbed his arm and pulled him into the coat room. She kicked the door closed behind her and pushed Colress against the wall, keeping him from moving by pinning his arms down.

"Now what is this all of the sudden?" Colress's wry grin made clear that he already knew the answer very well. "Something tells me artifacts aren't the only thing you're interested in studying."

"No." Nekou didn't look him directly in the eyes. "I like that brain of yours. I like what you've got in there. I want it."

"Is that so."

Nekou licked her lips again and pushed herself against Colress. "That sure is so," she whispered, running her finger around his curl of blue hair as she slowly moved her face closer to his. "There isn't anything I enjoy more than someone who knows a lot. And you do know a lot, I can already tell."

"You aren't wrong about that, my dear…"

While Colress talked, another message from Rosalie appeared on Nekou's mask. _"We got it. Pull out so the raid team can go in."_

"...so why don't you take that mask off so I can get a look at that face?"

"Close your eyes," Nekou replied in a breathy voice. "I have a surprise for you."

Colress did exactly as he was told, an act Nekou couldn't help but roll her eyes at. He had no idea that she was pointing not her face but her arm at him until a cloud of orange power sprayed over him from the device on her wrist. In an instant he was overcome by a violent coughing fit, his spasms forcing him off the wall and into one of the coat racks. His legs quickly failed, sending him bowled over on the floor as he continued to cough.

"What did you do to me?!" he yelled at Nekou, who was straightening out her dress as if nothing had happened. His voice was quiet and strained as a result of the powder's effects.

"Stun Spore," she answered indifferently. "Don't worry, you're not gonna die. You'll just be spending some time by yourself in here, and I'll be blunt, it ain't gonna be fun."

"Why?" Colress choked. Speaking was becoming more of a struggle as the paralysis took hold. "Why would you do this?"

"I did it because I do what I want. That's how I live." She looked down on him, though because of her mask, he couldn't see the harsh gaze she wore. "There isn't anything else worth doing in life when you get down to it. When that Stun Spore wears off, try learning something from that."

With that, Nekou went to the door and left the coat room, reassuming her false persona as she went. She gently closed the door behind her, leaving Colress there to remain hidden.

-:-

Meanwhile, outside the lab, Jessie, James and Meowth ran along one of the walls surrounding its perimeter. They'd received all the key data copied from Colress's access card, and armed with it, they were ready to carry out their own part of the mission.

When they stopped, Jessie turned to James. "We're all set," she said to him, giving him a thumbs up.

"Right," he replied, returning the gesture.

Nothing more needed to be said, so the trio threw ropes with grappling hooks attached over the wall and used them to scale it. Once they were atop the barrier, they put on high-tech goggles that revealed the extensive grid of security lasers spread out before them.

"Hmm… just look at all those sensors."

Jessie's words were unmistakably true, in fact, they might have been an understatement. The wing of the facility where actual research was carried out was blanketed with security devices, combining together to create a net with barely any space between its lines.

"Trip just one of those and we'll set off the alarm," James noted.

"That's tight security!" Meowth added.

"Which goes to show you how valuable the data they're protecting is," Jessie said with a smile. "Ah!"

With graceful, smooth motions, Jessie leaped down off the wall to land within its perimeter, then deftly worked her way through the web of sensors. James and Meowth quickly followed, and within moments they reached the building. Using a card programmed with Colress's information, James was able to open the doors of the lab's research wing, leaving only some more lasers between them and their goal. Most would be caught by the sensors, but the training the trio had gave them the ability to easily pass them all by.

Before long, they arrived at their destination - a spacious air vent directly above the room where the lab's main servers were located. James moved one of the tiles, allowing himself and his teammates to look down directly into the chamber.

"Looks like this is packed with sensors too," Jessie observed.

"Then let's give 'em our little surprise!"

Meowth's suggestion prompted a grin from James. "Right," he said as he took out a small black cube. "Here goes."

A tiny propeller emerged from the top of the cube, lifting it out of James's hand and down into the server room. It carefully navigated around the sensors and landed on the array's central unit, where it deployed a connection to the system while the propeller folded into a transmission antenna.

"Excellent," James said. During the probe's journey, he'd set up a laptop to manage the download, and managed the infiltration with Jessie while Meowth kept watch over the room.

"Connection?" Jessie asked Meowth.

"I'm on it," replied the Pokémon.

"Password protected, as suspected." A green window with a field for entering the password appeared on the laptop's screen, and James chuckled to himself at how easy the entire thing was. "Not a problem."

James entered the access codes stolen from Colress into the terminal, prompting a rain of glyphs to zoom by as within mere seconds, any resistance the server's security could have put up melted away.

"We have access!" he exclaimed. A single tap of a key brought all the same data Faba had displayed at his speech up on the laptop's screen.

"That's the Meteonite data?" asked the smirking Jessie.

"Correct!" The data windows moved to the perimeter of the screen, and a status bar appeared in the space in the middle. "Copying now."

-:-

The next day, Pierce was walking down the dark tunnels of an abandoned part of Unova's subway system. He'd just finished meeting with Jessie, James and Meowth in order to collect the device containing the Meteonite data, and was on his way to give Giovanni a report.

 _"I'm impressed at how good they really are,"_ he thought to himself, looking down at the cube in his hand. _"Who would have known three like them could be shaped into such exemplary agents?"_

As he neared a track switch, Pierce stopped and surveyed his surroundings. He was so deep into the disused region of the subway system that he reasoned only people wanting to hide themselves would bother going that far. Of course, that worked perfectly for him.

He reached into his trench coat and retrieved a small disc, which he set on the signal box next to the tracks. It activated when he pressed a button on its side, producing a hologram of Giovanni with Stacia at his side.

"Giovanni, sir, I have obtained the data about the Meteonite retrieved from the Antimony Research Lab. I'll begin the transmission now."

Pierce held up the cube and pressed two buttons on opposite sides of it at the same time. A few seconds later, Giovanni looked away from the camera for a brief time.

"We are receiving it now," Giovanni confirmed. "Pierce, for your next mission I want you to arrange for Jessie, James and Meowth to receive a dummy Meteonite, which they are to replace the Meteonite on display in Nacrene Museum with. Some of our other agents within Unova already possess it, so with the information you possess you will be able to arrange the drop. I am sending Dr. Zager to work with you directly in Unova. Once those three replace the Meteonite in the museum with the dummy, I want you and Zager to pick them up so that Zager can examine it himself."

"Understood, sir."

-:-

"We're finally in Nacrene City!"

A few more days had passed since Pierce's last transmission to Giovanni. In that time, a group of three young people made their way to Nacrene City. The boy in the middle of the group, who wore a blue-and-white jacket and had his Pikachu riding on his shoulder, couldn't help himself from shouting out his excitement.

"Look at all these cool buildings!" one of his companions, a girl whose Axew rode in her voluminous violet hair, said.

"They're actually unused warehouses," explained the third member of the group, a taller young man wearing a suit with a bow tie that matched his green hair, "which the city leases to artists. And because of that, Nacrene City is known as the city of art."

"Wow, there's beautiful art everywhere you look!" the girl exclaimed while looking at a display in the window of the art gallery they'd stopped in front of.

"The city is also admired for its style, so it's the city of admiration too."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, you can call it what you want," the boy with the Pikachu said to his friend, "but I came here to Nacrene City for one reason. A Gym battle!"

"The city's museum just happens to be the site of the Nacrene Gym!"

"Yeah?" This surprised the boy, but he never stopped smiling as he talked to his finely-dressed companion. "How awesome is it to have a Gym inside a museum? Let's go there now!" He pumped his fist into the air, a gesture his Pikachu matched with a cheerful cry.

However, as they walked off, they remained unaware that they were being watched. Nekou, still in her disguise, had been standing in the entrance of the gallery and eavesdropping on their conversation. Having heard everything, she took out her phone and placed a call.

"You three," she said into the device once the recipient of the call picked it up, "those kids you call twerps are heading over to Nacrene Museum right now. You should wait to head there for a little longer."

"We're in no hurry," Jessie responded from the other end. "So don't worry about it."

"Our mapping program is still working on the museum's layout anyway," James added. "There's no need to rush."

~:~

"Wait, stop," Mitsumi interrupted. "Something about this is bothering me."

"Oh? What is it?" Trevor asked her.

Before laying out her concern, Mitsumi glanced around the table. Silva, Zinzolin and Anabel were all paying just as much attention as she was, but Matt was sitting perfectly still, staring at the table and lost in thought over what he was hearing.

Finally, Mitsumi took a breath. "Why did you even continue this operation if you knew Team Plasma and Polaris were there to oppose you?"

"If we were just trying to gain power, then maybe we would have left and tried something easier," Trevor admitted, "but once we knew Team Plasma was on the hunt for the Meteonite too, we had another reason to pursue it. You see, Team Rocket wants to keep things the way they are. The only change we want to make is to be the ones in control. Team Plasma and Polaris, though… they want to destroy this world's order. Ghetsis just wants to be a king, but the bigger presence of Polaris behind him… let's just say that if Polaris destroys this world, there won't be anything left for you to stop us from taking over. It's about survival and that puts us all on the same side."

"That certainly tracks with what Looker told us," Silva whispered to Mitsumi. "About Polaris and Dark Matter and everything."

"I can't disagree with you there," Mitsumi agreed. She turned back to Trevor and told him, "Keep going with your story."

"Alright. So Jessie, James and Meowth had to take a day to finish mapping out the museum and wait for an opening to carry out their mission. That next night, after the museum closed, they got that chance."

~:~

With the museum closed for the night, Jessie, James and Meowth knew the time was right to make their move. Jessie and Meowth went inside to carry out the actual replacement of the Meteonite, while James stayed behind in their truck to assist the operation.

"R1 to R2, R1 to R2," he said to his teammates from his place at a computer terminal in the back of the truck. "Hacking successful. I've taken command of every one of the building's controls. I can arm or disarm the security system at will."

Inside the building, Jessie was walking calmly down a hall toward the Meteonite exhibit with Meowth at her side, both of them wearing the same goggles that helped them in the previous infiltration. She carried in her hand a small case containing the fake Meteonite.

"Understood," she said. "Let's continue with our mission."

The pair reached the opening where the hallway connected to the exhibit room they were searching for, and stopped before entering it. Jessie surveyed the room and activated her goggles, revealing all the security sensors surrounding each of the exhibits. Before long, she spotted the case where the Meteonite was held.

"Target confirmed. Deactivate system."

"Consider it done," James replied. "I'll give you twenty seconds."

"Ten seconds would be more than enough," Meowth said smugly.

"Right. Proceeding. Three, two, one…"

As James counted down, Jessie and Meowth got ready to run.

"...go."

The security sensors deactivated at James's prompting, leaving the exhibits unguarded. Jessie and Meowth rushed in, rolling the case containing the false Meteonite alongside them as they rushed toward the real one. The case opened up by itself, giving Jessie access to the dummy Meteonite while Meowth got in front of her and leapt up to take off the glass covering the real one. Jessie followed by acrobatically jumping over the exhibit, snatching the real Meteonite and setting the fake one in its place in the blink of an eye. Meowth finished by dropping back down to replace the glass, and they arrived at the other hand of the chamber in time to put their prize into the case as soon as it stopped rolling.

They took a moment to watch the lasers go back on in satisfaction before turning and leaving.

~:~

"Once we obtained the Meteonite from Nacrene Museum, the next step was to confirm it was what the Antimony Research Lab claimed it was," Trevor further explained. "For that purpose, Pierce brought the three of them aboard Dr. Zager's helicopter, where he has a mobile laboratory. As soon as they all met up, Zager put that Meteonite from the museum under a beam of the energy from the Dreamyard."

"And what happened?" Anabel asked.

"The analysis definitively confirmed that the Meteonite was made of an ancient element not native to this planet, as the lab's work had indicated. That wasn't the only thing, though, oh no. It also displayed a potent reaction to the energy showering it, which made very clear just how its power could be used. Armed with all of that knowledge, only one step remained - going to the Desert Resort and finding it. And that wouldn't take long."

~:~

The Team Rocket helicopter flew slowly over the dry, craggy landscape of the desert between Castelia City and Nimbasa City, surveying the area using a signal from a satellite dish attached to its bottom. Inside, the small Meteonite had been put into a container so it could act as the signal's source. Pierce and Jessie were watching the piece of rock, while James and Meowth sat at two of the helicopter's computers.

"Sensor readings?" Jessie asked.

"None yet," answered James.

Finding himself somewhat impatient for results, Pierce turned to Zager and questioned him, "Well, Dr. Zager?"

Standing at a computer of his own, Zager answered, "Excellent, if we're able to maintain these coordinates."

"Coordinates holdin' at one-two-one-six," Meowth reported from his terminal.

"We've picked up something!" James exclaimed.

Pierce looked up at the mobile lab's main monitor, where the flow of energy in the area was all being focused into one spot on the map. "Oh my…" he uttered, the weight of the moment robbing him of any further words.

"Yes, I've found it!" Zager excitedly announced to the others. "The Meteonite!"

The helicopter came to a stop over one particular part of the Desert Resort, pointing the dish squarely at a point where, deep underground, a huge Meteonite awaited.

-:-

Less than a day later, another Team Rocket aircraft was on its way toward Unova. This one was much bigger and served a very different purpose than Zager's helicopter. It was Giovanni's personal jet, a silvery shuttle emblazoned with the Team Rocket logo on the sides and front.

In his plush quarters, Giovanni sat in a chair as luxurious as the one in his office. He was calmly thinking about what would happen when he landed until he was interrupted by the appearance of a Team Rocket grunt on a screen in front of him.

"Update. Arrival in the Unova region imminent."

"Very good." Giovanni dismissed the grunt, then leaned back in his chair, smirked, and laughed to himself. "The Meteonite… exclusively for the power and glory of Team Rocket!"

 

 

 

**END of CHAPTER 23**


End file.
